


Sector MG

by Gamewizard2008



Series: Kids Next Door Gameverse [36]
Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game), Codename: Kids Next Door, Fairy Tail, Majo no Takkyuubin | Kiki's Delivery Service, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game), Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Friendship, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-05-25 03:38:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14968295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamewizard2008/pseuds/Gamewizard2008
Summary: The 2nd story of the Newborn Saga and the 5th Crossover Sector story,Sector MG. Wendy Marvell, Romeo Conbolt, Kiki Yamaka, Oliver Orson, Philip Blakely, and the Hat Kid make up Kids Next Door Sector MG, and they know how to bring the magic to the party! You know the drill, one chapter for each member!





	1. The Founding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of how Wendy Marvell forms Sector MG, a KND sector for mages like herself!

**Aren’t I in the middle of _Sector KB_? Eh, they weren’t even heavily focused during the Lights Saga. Sector MG is another new sector of crossover characters, and I am quite excited to use them. So, let’s start the introduction!**

****

**_

Chapter 1: The Founding

_**

****

**KND Arctic Base; three years ago**

The transport vessel arrived with a new shipment of potential operatives. Most of them were rather ordinary, except for a particular girl with deep blue hair, dressed in a light-blue coat with black pants and boots. “Good time-of-day, Cadets Next Door.” Marcus Drilovsky greeted the line of cadets. “My name is Marcus, and I’ll be your Drill Sergeant for these upcoming weeks of arduous training. You’ll be tested in all areas, up to and including airship piloting, stealth, combat, and of course teamwork. Now, why don’t we begin with some introductions? I’m sure at least one of you are targeting a certain position amongst the ranks. So, spill it. What are you good at?”

“Uh, my name is May, and I watch my dad build stuff in the garage!” a girl said.

“My name is David, and I like to play shooting games!”

“Good, good… What about you, Blue Girl?”

“Huh? Oh, my name is Wendy, and I’m a wizard!” said the girl with blue hair.

“A wizard?” asked Marcus, the other cadets murmuring in curiosity.

“Well, a student wizard. Heh heh, I haven’t even started school, yet.” She blushed. “But I’m pretty good at magic. Here, I brought my own wand!” She raised her Lamia Scale made of rose quartz.

“That’s… interesting. I don’t think we’ve ever had an operative that could use magic. I’ve heard of wizards, but I scarcely see them.”

“Does that mean I’m the first?!”

“Calm down, sweetheart. You’ll need to know more than magic if you wanna pass MY training.”

“No problem! I’ll face whatever challenge you have planned for me!” Wendy spoke with determination.

And so she did. When cadets were ordered to race across the snowfield, Wendy crossed the finish line in half a minute. Of course, she had to do it again without bending, but even then, she had the strength and willpower to succeed. During combat training, Wendy was a master at airbending and quick evasion, and even without her powers, she defeated her fellow cadets with ease. During espionage, she could miniaturize herself and her teammates or make distant barrels levitate and distract their opponents. The only part Wendy mainly had trouble with was the piloting.

“WAAAAAAH!” she screamed while controlling the virtual S.C.A.M.P.E.R..

But it was a minor setback in her training. When graduation came, Wendy was the first one in line. “I am proud to present the Kids Next Door’s first official _magic_ operative, who passed training with flying colors, Wendy Marvell!” Cheren Uno announced. “Wendy, enter your booger in the Code Module and choose your numbuh and sector.”

“Uh… but I cleaned my nose this morning.”

“A nosehair will do.”

“Hehe. Okay.” Wendy pricked a hair from her nostril and stuck it in the Code Module. “I choose the codename Numbuh 700, and as for my sector… I choose Sector RZ!”

“YAAAAAAY!” Lee Andrew and his friends cheered.

“Heh heh! I thought you would. Alright, Wendy, go up and join your team.”

“Don’t wizards have laws against showing their powers to normal humans?” Maddy asked Chris.

“Used to be the same with benders. Besides, the KND has more power than any government nowadays, she’ll be alright.”

“YES!” exclaimed Lee, grabbing Wendy in a hug. “I’m so happy you’re finally in our sector!”

“I am too, Lee! This is gonna be great!”

**A few months later; Cheren’s office**

“Thank you for coming, Sector RZ.” Cheren began. “The reason I invited you here is because of your new mission success rate. The good news is, you’ve accomplished every mission given to you ever since Wendy joined your sector. The bad news is… the only people who seem to be doing anything are Wendy and Diwata.”

“What are you talking about?!” Lee shouted. “The rest of us do stuff!”

“Exactly.” Cheren raised a paper. “According to the report from the mission to stop King Goobot from frying the entire state of Alaska, ‘Diwata used her moonbending to open a hole into his flagship’s hull, while Wendy used magic to transform all his soldiers into chickens. Oh, and me, Lulu, and Lee did stuff, too.’”

The group stared awkwardly at Denny. “…Well, I procrastinated a bit when writing it because it wasn’t really a long mission, but then I couldn’t think of stuff to say about us.”

“Sigh. May I speak to Wendy in private, please?”

The team exchanged worried glances before heeding their leader’s request, leaving Wendy alone with him. “Um… did I do something wrong?” she asked.

“Wendy, there’s no easy way to say this, but… I think you’re too good for Sector RZ.”

“…I am?” She was a little embarrassed. “I mean, I appreciate the praise, but I don’t quite understand.”

“Wendy, the truth is, Sector RZ is a tad… inexperienced, to put it nicely. You’ve shown impeccable skill with your magic and abilities, and I’m just afraid that you would eventually discourage them from trying harder. In fact, the only sector I can think of where you would fit at your current level would be Sector V, but they have too many members already. I suppose I could put you with those giant kids…”

Wendy bit her lower lip, thinking she would feel even more out-of-place next to giants. “But there aren’t any more magic users in the KND, are there? What am I supposed to do?”

“…Well, we can always have you transferred to the Avalaran KND.”

“You said the same thing about the giant kids!”

“That’s because the Avalarans have giants! And they also have magic users.”

“But I don’t know anyone on Avalar. All my friends are here on Earth.”

“Then the solution is obvious!” declared a girl from the entrance. The two faced the doorway and found Mako Mankanshoku. _Hallelujah!_ “All we have to do is bring MORE wizards into the KND! But in order to do so, we need to make things more accommodating to the wizarding culture. We’ll start cooking with magic cauldrons and serve toads and witch’s toenails for lunch. Ditch TV and start using crystal balls!”

The two bore awkward looks. “I don’t think we need to go THAT far…” Wendy said. “But it is a good idea. Let’s start advertising the KND to magic communities! We’ll tell them that we’ve started accepting wizards and we’ll set up treehouses in magic towns! Whaddya say, Cheren?”

Cheren was hesitant to answer. He thought back to the giant operatives and his reasons for wanting to transfer them. If wizards were to be welcomed, the normal humans would feel even more discouraged. “Cheren?” Wendy spoke again.

“Huh? Oh, sorry. I think it’s a great idea, Wendy!” Cheren grinned.

“Great! Just leave it all to me! (And Dr. Facilier.)”

With the witch-doctor’s help, they drew up and copied several advertisements for the KND. They paid owls and magical postmen alike to deliver the posters to any and all available mailboxes.

It took some time, but little by little, children with magic blood received the posters and began to consider. _Now accepting wizards! (Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone!)_

It wasn’t until a year later when magical applicants really began to flood in. Some children only began to study magic at the age of 11, so any younger than that may not go well. A brown-haired boy was currently returning to his home in Motorville, raising a poster. “Hey, Ollie, whatcha got there?” asked his friend, a taller yellow-haired boy with glasses.

“It’s a poster for the Kids Next Door! We got it at school. It says they’re accepting wizards now.”

“Really? Are you thinking of joining?”

“Well, kind of. I mean, it could be fun. And you could come with me, Phil!”

“Hah hah! Yeah right, they get a million Muggles like me every day. You’re the only one weird enough to work with them, Ollie.”

“That’s too bad, Phil. Because with all the technology they have, you could probably build something faster than a racecar.”

“Hmm… That’s actually not a bad idea… Ah, what the heck. Sign me up!”

Wendy herself had been passing posters out to fellow students at Hogwarts. She gave one to an older boy with dark-purple hair. “The Kids Next Door, huh?” he asked. “Hey, Wendy, do you know Chris Uno?”

“Huh? Oh, I think I’ve heard of him. I don’t know him personally.”

“Hmm… I think I might like to meet him.”

In Japan, a young witch was delivering some of these posters to local neighborhoods. She decided to take a look at one herself. “The KND, huh? Hmmm… I’ve always wondered what it would be like working for them.”

**Sector RZ**

“Here’s my design for the first magic treehouse.” Wendy showed Lee a sketch. “I call it Sector MG; also known as Sector Mage. I based the design off of a place called Fairy Tail, when I was sucked into that other dimension. I was going to name it Sector FT, but I just… didn’t think I would do it justice. Heh heh.”

“It looks cool.” Lee said. “So, are you going to lead that sector?”

Wendy frowned. “Well… I guess I could. But I can stay here if you want me to.”

“…”

“What’s wrong, Lee? Do you… _want_ me to go?”

“It’s… not that I do, Wendy… but I think you should.”

“Why?”

“Cheren is right, Wendy. You’re extremely talented, even on modern KND terms. I wouldn’t want us to hold you back.”

“I don’t think you’re holding me back, Lee. I love it here.”

“Thanks Wendy, but I still think you should go. I don’t want us to be the sector that has to keep relying on a trump card to win all our battles, like Sector V with Sheila or Sector SA with that Arab chick. I think we should try to get better on our own, and I think you would feel more comfortable with other mages.” _Even though we still have Dee-Dee._

“Okay, Lee… if you really think I should. I’ll still come to visit, though!”

“I would hope so!”

**Sometime later**

Sector MG was constructed just as Wendy had envisioned. With a proud smile, she stood upon a conveniently-placed stone and faced her teammates. “Kids Next Door operatives, state your numbuhs and positions!”

“Numbuh Rainbow: Romeo Conbolt!” stated the purple-haired boy, violet flames in his hands. He wore an open dark-red robe with a white sash around the hip, green pants, brown boots, and an orange scarf. “Colorful Combat Specialist!”

“Numbuh Delivery, Kiki Yamaka!” saluted a brown-haired girl with a red hair ribbon, a large indigo dress, and orange slip-on shoes. “Broomstick Pilot and Delivery Girl!”

“Numbuh Morning, Oliver Orson!” proclaimed a boy with light-brown hair, a yellow shirt, and blue trousers with white straps going over the shoulders. “Alchemist!”

“Numbuh Miles, Philip Blakely!” spoke a yellow-haired boy with glasses, a red polo shirt, blue trousers with a belt, and black sneakers. “Tech Wizard! Figuratively, of course.” He blushed.

“And I’m Numbuh 700, Wendy Marvell! Founder and Leader of this sector! Any objections?”

“None from me.” Romeo said.

“Nuh-uh.” Phil shook.

“Perfect.” Wendy about-faced and looked up at the treehouse. “Then let’s get started.”

Sector MG were assigned missions that involved tracking and taking down evil mages. They got along well and were already shaping up to compete with the top sectors. But as they all knew, their adventures wouldn’t be able to last for long. Eventually, the time came. And only one was able to face it.

“Are you sure you don’t want us to come with you, Wendy?” Romeo asked. “If The Thirteen are really that dangerous, we should protect you.”

“Don’t worry, Romeo. I have the Fairy’s Tail, not to mention everyone else that’s coming. I don’t mean anything bad by it, but… you guys haven’t been in the KND as long as me. And the missions we’ve been on aren’t going to be the same. I’d really like you guys to come, but…”

“We understand, Wendy.” Kiki assured. “I think you’re right. We would just be in the way.”

“But if it becomes too much for you, promise you’ll contact us.” Oliver said.

“I will. Don’t worry.”

“Okay. Good luck out there, Kiddo!” Philip smirked. “Kick some butt for all of us!”

“Bring home the good news!” Romeo cheered.

“Ha ha ha! I won’t let you down!”

**After all the crazy stuff went down (no need to explain, you know what I mean :P)**

Sector MG was delighted to have their leader return in one piece. What better way to celebrate her return (besides Field Day) than a mission to infiltrate a witch’s giant gingerbread house? Mother Mae-Eye sent wave after wave of Gingerbread Warriors, driving them to the point of exhaustion. Romeo froze them with blue fire, Oliver melted them with fire magic, Wendy sliced them with airbending, and Philip shot them with a Diffusion Rifle, but the monstrous cookies were endless.

“Myah HA HA ha ha ha!” laughed Mae-Eye. “You’re no match for Mother’s new recipe! Soon, you’ll be roasted just like the rest of those little wretches! In fact, I think it’s time for the second course.” With a wave of her magic ladle, the scattered pieces of the cookies began to merge together in a clustered colossus of a Gingerbread Giant, complete with six arms and spiked edges. _“ROOOOAAAAAR!”_

“NUMBUH CLASSIC, GO!” Wendy called.

A brown-haired girl in a dark-blue dress and large top-hat ran out, throwing her hat onto the tip of Kiki’s broomstick. The girl turned into energy and flew inside the broom, her cerulean eyes appearing in the straws. Kiki flew them up, so when they were level with the giant’s head, the Hat Kid rematerialized and threw her hat onto its head. In an instant, the Gingerbread Giant was possessed, swinging its spiked arm against Mae-Eye and knocking her into an equal-sized table. “You traitorous mass of DOUGH!” Mae-Eye shouted. “After all the work I put into baking you, decorating you, making sure you were RIPE for eating, THIS is how you thank your MOTHER?!”

 _“RAAAAAH!”_ The titan wasted no time in impaling Mother’s stomach, the witch bursting with pink smoke and vanishing into thin air. The gingerbread house was already collapsing, but the Gingerbread giant ducked over Sector MG and protected them from the debris. Shortly after, the monster’s body fell to pieces, and the Hat Kid returned to normal.

“I could’ve just protected us with a Protego.” Wendy said.

“Yeah, but how often can you say that a gingerbread rainbow bridge protected you?” Hat Kid said happily.

“We still have to rescue the kids.” Kiki reminded.

“I’m on it!” Romeo threw a rope of purple flame up to the giant oven’s handle and pulled it open. The six kids climbed inside the steaming device, finding a group of merkids nearly dehydrated.

“We have to get them some water.” Wendy said. “Aguamenti!” She cast water from her wand and poured it over them.

“I’m calling a medical vessel.” Oliver stated.

After the merkids were treated for the time being, the medical vessel made contact with an Oceanic ship to transfer the merkids. “We’re in your debt, Sector MG.” a merboy officer said. “Kaima will be happy to know these kids were returned home.”

“It was our pleasure to help.” Wendy nodded.

“Yeah, it was no problem at all.” Philip said.

“Good to hear. Though I should expect nothing less after recent events. Take care, human brethren.” The merboy dove back underwater and the ship submerged.

“Still, we almost got our butts kicked by that witch.” Romeo said.

“Tell me about it.” Phil took out a jar of purple pills, dropped one on his hand, and ate it. “I always heard those Brotherhood guys were wimps.”

“I think they spent the past three years training.” Wendy said. “We shouldn’t underestimate them.”

“Yeah. But for now, whaddya say we head home and grab a snack?” Romeo asked. “’Cause fighting all those cookies sure made me hungry!”

“You didn’t think to grab a bite?” Hat Kid asked, eating some gingerbread pieces.

“No way! Imagine what those things were made of!” Kiki said with disgust. “Besides, did you see how fat those merkids were?”

“Gee, you’re such a girl.” Phil snickered.

“What does THAT mean?!”

“Okay, that’s enough you two.” Oliver chuckled. “I’m pretty hungry myself. Let’s go home.”

“I call the Shroom Steak!” Hat Kid perked up.

 

**YAY, crossovers: Wendy and Romeo are from _Fairy Tail_ , Oliver and Philip are from _Ni no Kuni_ , Kiki is from _Kiki’s Delivery Service_ , and Hat Kid is from the upcoming game, _A Hat In Time_. (Also, Mother Mae-Eye’s from _Teen Titans_.) Next time, we’ll do Romeo’s chapter (since Wendy don’t need anymore chapters :XD:)!**


	2. The Wandless Wizard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Romeo Conbolt decides to enter in the Heaven's Arena tournament!

**Starring our favorite hunk from _Fairy Tail_ (or mine), Romeo Conbolt!**

****

**_

Chapter 2: The Wandless Wizard

_**

****

**Three years ago; Hogwarts**

The students were asked to hand over their wands and put them on a table. As they stood in line on the Quidditch Field, dressed in white T-shirts and red shorts with sneakers, Madame Hooch paced from one side to the other and examined them. Wendy stood next to Romeo. “Welcome to your first class of physical education. (I speak to the first-years, of course.) Before we begin, who of you here are element benders?”

Wendy, Romeo, and a couple others raised their hands. “I see. Now, can one of you tell me what the difference between a bender and a mage is? The answer is NOT their abilities.” Romeo raised his hand. “Yes, Mr. Conbolt?”

“Is it that benders use their bodies to control elements, but mages use wands and books?”

“Correct. Now, who can tell me what they have in common? The answer is NOT their use in elements. You, Ms. Marvell?”

“It’s that both types possess chi.” answered Wendy, her hair in a ponytail.

“Right you are. You see, some wizards are under the impression that, just because we wave wands and utter funny words, we don’t have to train our bodies the way benders do. WELL, THEY’RE WRONG. Because using magic exhausts our bodies the same as using chi. Our magic is merely a unique compound of various chis that we summon to our whim. And yet, normal benders have the gall to call our practice unnatural, an insult to nature. But in this day and age, I think there’s a very thin line between what is deemed ‘normal’ and ‘not normal.’ We wizards must train our bodies to become stronger, get adept with our chi so that we may command the powers we were born with. So, by the end of this term, the strength of your magic should increase TENFOLD!”

Their first task was to race five laps around the field. Madame Hooch also had chi-blocks set up to make things slightly harder for the benders. Without her airbending, Wendy felt a significant decrease in speed. The older students were staying ahead of her, and Romeo was in first place. “Come on, Wendy! I thought you were faster than that!” he yelled back with a wry grin. Wendy fixed a glare on him and poured more power into her legs.

When the students were asked to swing across a series of magically floating bars, followed by climbing poles, Romeo watched as Wendy was able to pass him. “Come on, Romeo, I thought you were stronger than that!” Romeo flushed and hesitated for a moment, feeling his pride shrink a little.

That night, while the other girls were asleep in their dorm, Wendy felt thirsty and got up for a drink. She heard a faint sound outside, like a quick movement of bare feet. Wendy quietly made her way downstairs and saw Romeo jogging down the stairs to the boys’ dorm. He turned and made his way back up, and Wendy waited for him to come back down. When he did, he was shocked to see her. “Huh, Wendy?” he stopped, gasping for breath. “Eeek!” He blushed, remembering he was only in purple shorts.

“I heard something downstairs and came to check. What are you doing, Romeo?”

“Just… getting some extra credit for phys-ed.”

“Is this because I passed you on the monkey bars?”

“No, not really, it’s… Sigh, I might as well tell you. Wendy, you know how wands have to choose the wizards, otherwise they won’t work?”

“I know that.” Wendy answered, remembering when she was first trying wands.

“The truth is, I could never find a wand that worked for me. Every wand I tried either caught fire or something else. Even rare wands like the Phoenix Feather. The only way magic is able to work for me is if I use my firebending. Training is just about the only thing I do, so I can use better magic without getting too tired. Thankfully, there are other classes that don’t use wands.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Romeo.” _That explains his muscles._ “Well, don’t push yourself too hard, okay? Make sure you get to bed soon, or you’ll be asleep through all your classes!”

“Ha ha! Don’t worry, Wendy, I’ll get to sleep soon. Just three more laps.”

“Hee hee! Okay. Good night, Romeo.” Wendy headed back upstairs. Romeo waited until she was gone before resuming his routine.

**Moonbase Gym; present day**

Romeo and Chris Uno locked arms and wrestled each other onto the mat, the Uno son able to wrap Romeo’s arms behind him. “You’re a trillion years too late to be challenging ME, Romey!”

“Hnnnrr! I feel you struggling, Uno!”

“So, this is how boys learn to mate.” Maddy commented, awkwardly watching them alongside Wendy. “I still feel like they’re a bit too young, don’t you?”

“Eh heh heh heh…” Wendy flushed. “We better hope Hogwarts has a sex-ed.”

“Hey, I get to kick his ass NEXT, Princey!” Ruby shouted.

“I called dibs on him, get in line, Shruby!” Jinta remarked.

Ruby gritted her teeth and glared at the taller boy. “You realize I’m JUST short enough to punch you where it hurts, right?!”

“Since when did I become the school punching bag?” Romeo asked.

“Because you’re a newbie, Romeo!” Chris smiled, keeping Romeo pinned. “The newbie always gets the bully treatment! It’s how you become stronger! You should’ve been there when Anthony joined—me, George, and Jinta ALL gang-piled on him, HA HA HA! And we even let Vweeb come in and bite his nose!”

“But I’ve been an operative for two years now.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t a veteran of the Twenty Keys Quest. Heck, those two barely qualify, they didn’t do JACK through the whole thing!” He gestured at Ruby and Jinta.

“THE HELL I DIDN’T DO JACK!” Ruby tackled Chris and started pummeling him furiously. “That jackass Suigetsu talkin’ smack about me, you think anyone ELSE coulda beaten him?!”

“That goes double for me!” Jinta joined in on the beatings. “We saved your dumb Moonbase from gettin’ Footbombed, and I decided to blow up the stadium for good measure!”

“Karin said that was an accident.” Ruby mentioned.

“SHUT UP!”

Romeo helped himself to his feet, watching the threesome brawl transpire. “Boys will be boys, right?”

“I’M A GIRL!” Ruby screeched.

“You know, this reminds me of a boxing tournament we girls had a few years back.” Maddy said. “We oughta hold one again and whip YOU into shape, Wendy.”

“Please don’t!” Wendy hugged herself fearfully. “I’m fairly good at fighting, but I’m like a stick compared to you!”

“Hey, that’s what we need!” Jinta proclaimed, getting up. “A BOYS’ Boxing Tournament! A chance for us to flex our muscles and get in touch with our natural roots! Oh, and Ruby can join, too.” Ruby punched him across the room a second later.

 _“Will all operatives please report to the bridge for a special announcement.”_ Larry MayHence’s voice rang. _“Supreme Leader’s orders. And don’t worry, he says it’s not another Apocalypse.”_

Everyone in the gym and the rest of the Moonbase (including their sectormates) gathered around the Global Tactical Station, where Panini, Francis, and Cheren were. “Nebula just sent us a message.” Cheren said. “Play it, Panini.” His vice-leader pushed the button. The large screen came on, displaying a Shy Guy in a tuxedo, a top-hat, and a smiling mask with crescent eyes.

_“Kougyoku ku ku ku ku ku ku! Greetings, Kids Next Door! My name is Shy Mask, promoter of the Heaven’s Arena on Planet Coruscant. First off, may I say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching your Field Day games. Chancellor Phyronix made sure EVERYONE on the planet caught a glimpse of the Kids Next Door, the saviors of the universe! Why, you’re all the talk of the town, and believe me, that’s a big town, ku ku ku ku! And that is why, I would like to personally electronically invite you to my Heaven’s Arena!”_

The screen displayed a picture of a colossal building that dwarfed all the others in its area. _“It’s that really big one, in case you were wondering. Yes, Heaven’s Arena, constructed with 200 floors of arenas, filled to the brim with the strongest fighters from all over the universe! And our ecstatic fighters have been ITCHING to duke it out with the legendary KND! And that is why, we so cordially invite you to take part in our arena, FREE OF CHARGE! See how high you can climb, how many opponents you can make fall at your feet, and if by some miracle you reach the 200th floor, you will have a shot at the CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE! Oh, did I mention you’ll win cash for every battle you win? So please, send over your strongest operatives, show the good people of the universe what the Kids Next Door can do! If you are interested, simply send over a list of contestants and we’ll get things prepped up by the week. (By which we mean the promotional items.)”_

“That’s basically all it says.” Cheren said. “I’ve broadcasted the message to other treehouses already. Frankly, I’m not sure if this is a trap or if it’s earnest.”

“Okay, screw the Boxing Tournament idea!” Jinta fist-palmed. “Sign me up for Heaven’s Arena!”

“Like a fish to the hook worm.” Karin said with disbelief.

“I don’t mind some old-fashioned combat sports.” Chris said. “What about you, Mads?”

“Well, there’s no reason to get out of shape before the next super entity arrives.” Maddy shrugged. “I’ll sign up, too.”

“Count me in!” Ruby smirked.

“Well, Romeo?” Wendy asked her friend. “Are you thinking of joining?”

“Well, of course!” Romeo said confidently. “If I’m gonna match up to the strongest operatives, this will be the perfect chance to prove myself!” Romeo whipped a finger toward the screen and declared, “Heaven’s Arena, HERE I COME!”

**Heaven’s Arena, one week later**

“Ladies, gentlemen, and Nuchachos, WELCOME to HEAVEN’S ARENA!” announced Shy Mask from the center of the ring. “Today, we have a very SPECIAL tournament: the noble and infamous Kids Next Door will be starring in our arena, trying to fight their way to the top! The Kids Next Door, the ones who challenged the Apocalypse with strength like no other, you will now get to SEE their power in action! Do they have what it takes to conquer Heaven’s Arena? Are they not as strong as they claim? Who can say? Only our mighty gladiators, of course!”

Outside, the various sectors landed their aircraft in the “Reserved Parking” area. The second they were off, Sector MG bent their heads back 90 degrees, gazing all the way up the colossal structure. “This place is so big…” Wendy whimpered.

“I’m with you, girl.” Phil said. “It must’ve taken them a hundred YEARS to finish this.”

“200 arena-size floors…” Oliver followed.

Romeo felt a chill down his spine, feeling insignificant before the great tower. He took a breath and said, “Well, we won’t get anywhere by standing here. Let’s go in, team.”

In the arena lobby, all the chosen operatives from each sector were getting in line to sign up. These included Maddy Murphy, Chris Uno, Ruby, Jinta, Mocha, Anthony, Morgiana, and even Vweeb. “Any Kids Next Door operatives who only wish to spectate and not compete, we will escort you to the VIP stands.” An orange-haired woman told them. “Food and drinks are also free.”

“Holy crud, they’re treating us like kings!” Mason beamed.

“Don’t let it go to your head, Bro.” Haruka chuckled.

“We’ll be cheering you on, Romeo!” Wendy assured him. “Just listen to us call your name and you’ll have the strength to win!”

“I will, Wendy!”

“Heh.” scoffed a short, white alien that looked like a humanoid amplifier. “These Kids Next Door ain’t gonna get nowhere. Not unless they know the secret.”

“Ha ha ha!” laughed his friend. “Yeah! They’re toast!”

“Excuse me, but what secret are you talking about?” Wendy asked.

“Oh, you wanna know? It’s called Nen, sweetheart!”

“Nen?” Oliver repeated. “I wonder what that is?”

“If you ask me,” Phil stroked his chin, “Nen is probably a complex martial art that utilizes chi, allowing people to perform supernatural attacks, sort of similar to bending, yet its mechanics work completely different, but it’s not the same as magic either.”

The aliens tried to hold in their laughter, but it came out, very loudly as they walked away. “What’s _their_ problem?” Romeo asked.

“You know, they were probably just trying to say it was ‘Nen of your business.’” Vweeb commented.

“Really? Well, that’s rude.”

“It’s combat sports!” Vweeb smiled and shrugged. “That attitude’s natural. Oh! It’s my turn.” He jumped to the desk.

“I guess we can’t expect too many people to play fair, either.” Romeo said. “Gotta be ready for anything.”

**Floor 1**

“Well, it seems that our contestants have all signed up!” Shy Mask announced. “Let’s welcome our first guest onto the arena: known as the Mad Conqueror, she is a master at all forms of Haki, MADDY MURPHYYYY!” The young fighter was bravely marching up to the ring. “And her opponent: a dwarf giant from Planet Avalar, he packs RAGE into his fists, the Goliath, Albert King!”

“Getchor butt up here, brat.” The Goliath was a dark-skinned giant with black hair, a fluffy beard, and a blue top with red shorts and black boots. “Ain’tchu a little short to be fightin’ here? Looks like Uncle Albert’s gonna have to teach you a lesson.”

“The rules are the same as they’ve always been.” Shy Mask said. “Any form of bending and combat is allowed, but guns and projectile weapons are prohibited. Are we clear? Yes? No? WHO CARES! BATTLE!” The gong donged.

“The Goliath ain’t holdin’ back!” Albert fist-palmed. “I don’t care if you’re a little girl, ’cause I’m gonna beat you up. I’m gonna rip off yo’ head and bounce it around like a ball.” Maddy stood still while the titan swayed side-to-side and flexed his fists. “And you ain’t even gonna see it comin’. ’Cause the Goliath strikes fast; he strikes HARD, and he strikes FAST.” Maddy hardened her legs with Haki. “So, you better step in line, little girl, ’cause Goliath is gonna squish you so flat, you gonna get stuck in-between the floor tiles, and all them fighters are gonna trample you like yesterday’s-”

Fast as lightning, Maddy leapt up and PUNCHED him in the face, and across the arena the Goliath flew. “THE WINNER IS MADDY!”

“Oops. Did I overdo it?” Maddy blushed, her fists and feet returning to normal color.

“Well, you know the rules.” Shy Mask said. “For showing unmatched strength on the first floor, we will bump Ms. Murphy up to Floor 50!”

“FIFTY FLOORS IN ONE PUNCH?!” Francis screamed.

“ONE-PUNCH MADDY FOR THE WIN!” Panini screeched.

“Well, finishing this tournament shouldn’t be a problem.” Maddy smirked.

“Let’s hope the Goliath isn’t tired, yet! He still has plenty more operatives coming his way! …But maybe a moment’s rest wouldn’t hurt him.”

After Goliath had a quick healing treatment, he returned to the arena to face Romeo Conbolt, who removed his robe to have more room to stretch his arms. “So, we got a young man challengin’ me next, huh? I admit, I was goin’ easy on that girl, but I ain’t doin’ the same for you. I’m gonna see how well your muscles can tussle.”

Romeo wore a brave face and readied him. The gong donged, and the Goliath swung a kick, but Romeo leapt to the right. Violet flames on his fists, he shot one up to Albert’s fist, and when the giant impulsively raised it, Romeo swung up and onto his head, switching to normal red flames and punching forcefully, but Goliath shook his head and knocked him off. Romeo landed on his feet, running when the Goliath tried to stomp him, and leapt to punch the knee with an Ice Flame.

“ROMEO, ROMEO! HE’S OUR MAN!” Wendy cheered from the VIP stands. “HE CAN DO IT, I KNOW HE CAN!”

Romeo could hear her voice, and it filled him with courage. He bravely dodged Albert’s attacks, his left knee still frozen. “Time to show ’em what a wandless wizard can do. MITIGA!” When Albert’s fist was flying his way, Romeo countered it with a pink flame. The boy was still knocked back, but Albert felt a strange numbness in his arm. “Dormitabis!” Romeo threw white flames up to Albert’s head, causing him to become drowsy. “And top it all off with,” Romeo leapt up to the chest with an orange flame, “CONFRINGO!” His punch was so powerful that it blew Goliath out of the ring.

“ROMEO IS OUR WINNER! But for a slightly weaker performance than Maddy, I say Floor 25 is an excellent fit for him.”

“It’s fair enough.” Romeo smiled, flexing his muscles. “That felt pretty good!”

Anthony was next to fight Goliath, and the strong earthbender knocked him out with a simple flip of his side of the ring. “FLOOR 50!”

Chris Uno fought Goliath, and knocked him out with three quick flaming punches after flying up to his face. “FLOOR 40!”

Vweeb scampered up to the giant, effortlessly evading his massive boot and beginning to crawl up his leg. Albert frantically pounded his leg, trying to smash the Kateenian, but failed as Vweeb eventually made it into his ear and began to pound him from the inside. Albert punched his own head in desperation, but this resulted in his own downfall. “FLOOR 20!”

Morgiana stomped the ground and entered Red-Foot Fury, rocketing up to Goliath’s crotch and taking him down. “FLOOR 50!”

“Ugh. Is anyone else gettin’ tired of seein’ the SAME guy get ’is butt kicked?” Sheila asked, sitting with her friends in the stands.

“I’m sure the next rounds will be more interesting.” Haylee said. “I still can’t believe YOU didn’t sign up, Sheila.”

“I’m saving me fists for something important. Plus, me bones still ache from when that Sandbag got the better of me. Stupid wannabe YouTube star. So, I’m gonna enjoy some free food.” She propped her feet up on the railing and ate a powdered donut.

Mocha and Grenda easily defeated Goliath and booted up to Floor 50, but Ruby took her time to defeat him and was promoted to Floor 20. Sector MG was excited for Romeo’s next match on Floor 25. “Romeo Conbolt, the boy who calls himself the Rainbow Mage, vs. the twin Sonorosians, the Boom Boxers!”

“ECHO, ECHO! Look, it’s that kid from before!” yelled one of the amplifier aliens.

“You two again!” Romeo glared. “Wait a second, I didn’t know we were allowed to enter in teams!”

“Oops. Did I forget to mention?” Shy Mask asked. “Well, the truth is, we thought it would be more interesting if operatives entered one at a time. After all, Goliath could’ve certainly used the advantage, ku KO ku ku! BEGIN!”

The Sonorosians fired soundwaves at Romeo, who again dodged and ran up to punch them both with Ice Fire. The aliens broke the ice with soundwaves as one leapt to knock Romeo down. Both Sonorosians got on either side and attacked him with constant soundwaves, forcing him to clamp his ears. _“. . meo . . . eo . . ur . uy . .”_

Romeo weakly glanced up, seeing Wendy waving an arm from her stand, touching her wand to her neck to amplify her voice. “ROMEO, ROMEO, HE’S OUR GUY!” Her teammates shut their ears while Hat Kid pulled her hat over her head. “NO MATTER WHAT, HE’LL ALWAYS TRY!”

Romeo grinned and glared at his opponents. “SILENCIO!” He cast gray flames on the aliens, silencing their vocals. Romeo hopped to his feet and swung kicks to the earpieces, but the twins attacked Romeo from both sides until he was down again. “GO FOR IT, ROMEO, GO GO GO!” Romeo did a break-dance flame shockwave and knocked the aliens away, then dealt a final punch to each of them to knock them out of the ring.

“ROMEO WINS! I say he deserves a shot at Floor 30!”

At Floor 30, his matches were the Rainbow Solarans, which consisted of a red, green, blue, and violet Solaran. They charged at him furiously, but Romeo simply ran away and threw Ice Flames back. “COME ON, ROMEO, USE THAT ICE! FOUR ON ONE JUST ISN’T NICE!” Wendy repeated this among other cheers, Romeo’s blood rushing with power as he conjured greater ice flames. He spun around and sent them everywhere, freezing the red and green Solarans. The blue and purple ones attacked together, so Romeo used pink flames to soften their strength, followed by normal flames to knock them out.

“Impressive work! Let’s test his skill at Floor 40!”

Romeo was against a teenage Glomourian with four swords, one in each hand, one in his mouth, and one strapped to his head. He slashed constant airwaves that scraped the floor, Romeo safely shooting Soft Flames from long range. “Romeo, Romeo, he can do it! He’ll beat those swords ’fore you can say SCREW IT!”

Romeo formed an idea and rushed headfirst at the Glomourian, calling “Protego!” as a brighter blue flame formed over his head, ramming his opponent as the Glomourian was unable to fight back. Romeo kept running until his opponent was out of the ring.

“Let’s send Romeo to FLOOR 50!”

Floor 50’s guardian was a ninja named Yuffie. She swiftly dodged Romeo’s Soft Flames and used Shadow Clone Jutsu to conjure two clones, which ran up and used kunai to cut the teen mage. He punched the clones to make them poof, then blasted fire beams on either side of Yuffie. When she jumped over the left one, he quickly dashed forward for a punch to the face. Sadly, Yuffie poofed into a garbage can, and the real ninja kicked Romeo’s head from behind.

“ROMEO, ROMEO, HE’S OUR MALE! NO MATTER WHAT, HE WILL PREVAIL!”

“Wow, that girl must really like you.” Yuffie said. “She hasn’t stopped cheering in any of your matches.”

“Yeah, I’m a lucky guy, huh?” smirked Romeo, igniting his whole body with yellow flames.

“EUH, DISGUSTING!” Yuffie pinched her nose from the awful smell. Romeo seized the chance and punched the Stink Flames at her, engaging her directly, and despite Yuffie’s attempts to cut him with kunai, she could not use both hands without the scent intoxicating her nostrils. He spun around and sent the flames out, but Yuffie leapt above—she gasped when Romeo halted with his rear aimed up at her. He fired a fast Stink Flame and blew her out of the ring.

“Romeo achieves ANOTHER swift victory! To Floor 60 he goes!”

In the Floor 60 waiting room, Romeo was helping himself to some pizza and soda. “Phew! I didn’t think I would be doing this well! Your cheers must be magic, Wendy!”

 _“You don’t say… hehe.”_ Wendy croaked, drinking some blue potion that Oliver created.

“Does your throat hurt that bad? You don’t have to keep cheering, I know you’re there for me.”

“Even if you do, I think it’s important for people to always be reminded that friends have their back. And this way, I sorta feel like I’m fighting with you!”

“Well, I’m really grateful. But don’t overdo it, Wendy, really.”

 _“And Maddy Murphy wins her match in a LAND SLIDE!”_ They looked at the monitor. _“Let’s replay that in case you missed it.”_ They watched as Maddy swiftly dodged Yuffie’s clones and knocked out the real Yuffie in one hit. _“I think she’s too good for these floors. Whaddya say, guys? Floor 100?”_

_“YAAAAAAAHHH!”_

“Wow… Maddy’s really amazing.” Romeo said.

“Eh, I’m still tougher than her.” Sheila said nonchalantly.

“Too bad she has to wait until the rest of us take our time clearing the floors.” Chris said. “Eh, but whoever’s up there, she’ll probably knock them out of the park.”

Maddy was walking to the stands to watch Mocha’s fight, trekking an empty hallway. She passed by a dark corridor when she heard some vicious growling. Worried, she turned left. A pair of sharp green eyes glared at her from the darkness. _“Hello… Maddy…”_

“That… voice… It can’t be…”

 _“It’s been a long time.”_ A pair of lion’s paws stepped out. “I’m almost glad you returned in one piece.” The lion morphed into a human as he stood up straight.

“Lucci…” The assassin was wearing a white tuxedo and top-hat, a reverse color scheme of his old clothes. “Why are you here?”

“Well, after you humiliated me and destroyed the World Government, this was the only job I could find that could pay well. And support my blood lust. So, for the past three years, I have been here, trying to become stronger, praying that one day, I could face you again. And look… here you are. How convenient. Take a look.” Lucci raised an arm as it turned iron. “I’ve been studying Haki. Combined with my Rokushiki, I am more than a match for you now.”

“I’m not afraid. I beat you before, I’ll beat you again!”

“We’ll soon see.” Lucci smirked. “See you on the 100th floor.” He passed Maddy and walked the way she came.

The lights in the dark hall came on. “I finally fixed the lights!” yelled the janitor.

Mocha had a harder time with Yuffie, for the ninja was too small to hit, while the giant was too easy to hit, but she was eventually lucky enough to swat Yuffie away. Morgiana was also able to best the ninja, as were Chris and Anthony, but Vweeb suffered a humiliating defeat.

“Romeo, Romeo, he’s the best!” Wendy cheered as Romeo was in battle with an elder Earth Dragon from Avalar. “He’ll put his powers to the test!”

Romeo kept getting close for some strong Confringo punches at the dragon, but the elder remained firm and continued stomping rocks at him. “Your luck has run out, boy. We dragons have strong defense against magic.”

“ROMEO, DON’T GIVE UP! PUNCH HARDER, PUNCH STRONGER!”

“Yeah, but if I don’t win, my friend will have burned out her vocal cords for nothing!” Romeo punched faster with a constant array of Confringos, and Wendy was constantly chanting, “Romeo Romeo Romeo ROMEO!” Finally, one of his punches was just strong enough to make the dragon cough blood and fall.

“Romeo had some trouble, but he WINS! I think it will be safer to move him to Floor 65 next.”

In the waiting room, Wendy was drinking another blue potion, gasping for breath. “Wendy, you have to stop this.” Oliver said. “I’m almost out of elixirs, you can’t keep this up forever.”

“But if I just stop now, Romeo will be devastated. He’s come so far.”

“Man, that dragon was tough.” Romeo said, rubbing his arms and taking a seat. “I’m gonna ask to sit the next matches out, let them get started with the higher floors. I can tell Maddy is eager to reach the top.”

“Romeo, when are you thinking of stopping?” Oliver asked.

“Well, I’d like to go as high as I can. I know I’ll never be able to reach the top; heck, I bet I can’t even make it halfway.”

“I think you’re doing really great, Romeo.” Wendy said. “But if you’re too tired, don’t be afraid to give up.”

“Aw, great operatives don’t give up, Wendy! I’m not going down without a fight!”

Anthony was able to beat the Earth Dragon, and so was Morgiana, but Ruby and Mocha were defeated. Jinta had been defeated by Sir Gutsalot on Floor 55, a silver ball Nightmare with angry eyes that fought with fists that punched like cannonballs. On Floor 73, Anthony was defeated by a fire/icebender from Superbia named Shoto Todoroki, and on Floor 68, Morgiana was defeated by a large man with blue hair named Hinahoho, a warrior from Glacia.

“Garchomp chomp chomp chomp chomp! Well, it seems even these valiant heroes have limits.” Shy Mask said. “But the fun isn’t over, yet. Since Romeo is still recovering, let us jump to Floor 100 for Maddy’s grand battle!”

The contestants met up with their teams in the waiting room. “I’ve failed.” Morgiana said, bowing to Nagisa.

“Heh heh. It’s okay, really, Morg.” Nagisa blushed.

“Yeah, don’t act like a Japanese cliché.” Goombella said. “Still, I’ve been collecting some nice data from these fights. These guys’ Power Levels are HUUUUGE!”

“It’s a good thing you don’t have to be hit anymore to use Tattle.” Index replied.

Chris saw Maddy staring out the window in the corner. “What’s up, Maddy?”

“…It’s Lucci.”

“What?”

“Rob Lucci is my opponent. I ran into him earlier.”

“Oh… Well, do you think you can beat him?”

“I’m not sure. At first, I couldn’t even sense his presence. …He’s stronger, Chris. But I’ll try.”

“…Don’t get yourself killed, Maddy.” Chris stated seriously.

**Floor 100**

“WELCOME to the 100th FLOOR! It sure is faster than the Pit of 100 Trials, isn’t it? The Haki master, the Mad Conqueror, Maddy Murphy, will fight a deadly assassin from Planet Earth, a master of Rokushiki and two forms of Haki, not to mention a werelion metahuman, Rob Lucci the Lion!”

Both contestants stepped into the ring with the same looks of resent. “As it would happen, these two have quite a history.” Shy Mask said. “Apparently, it was Maddy who costed Lucci his previous job. This will be a battle of cold, bloody vengeance! LET’S RUMBLE!” Dong.

Maddy’s first instinct was to enter Haki Fury. Rob Lucci transformed into a black-mane lion and leapt with claws out. His iron paw met Maddy’s fist, and she was at first surprised at his outpour of strength. Maddy struggled and pushed with greater power, but to her utter surprise, Lucci’s iron claw morphed into a shade of gold, and she was THROWN out of the ring.

Everyone’s mouths dropped open. “That fight… didn’t even last for a minute.” Chris said.

“Let’s see… Maddy’s current Power Level is 8,063,” Goombella observed, “…while Lucci’s Power Level is… 10,874!”

“ROB LUCCI IS THE WINNER!”

“What?! No!” Maddy shouted. “Let me go again! He caught me off guard!”

“Sorry: I’m afraid we’ll have to move you down to Floor 70. You clearly weren’t ready for this battle.”

“He’s right.” Lucci smirked. “It seems after all this time, you never discovered the existence of Golden Haki.”

“GOLDEN Haki?! Now you’re just making crud up!”

“Oh, but I’m not. True, I am not a complete master, but it was enough to defeat you.”

“Well now, I believe we shall return down to Floor 65 for Romeo’s next match.”

“WAIT! I call for a Surprise Battle Request.”

“A-A Surprise Request?” Shy Mask stuttered.

“Yes. I wish to fight HIM!” Lucci whipped his finger at the stands.

Romeo gasped. “M-ME?!”

“Get down here, boy! NOW!”

“. . .” His heart pounding with anxiety, Romeo climbed down and approached the ring.

“W-Wait! Lucci! You know you can only call Surprise Requests with higher-ranked opponents, right?”

“This is not a matter of sport: it is a matter of PUNISHMENT!” Lucci morphed again and charged at Romeo, pinning him to the floor with his paw on his head.

“ROMEO!” screamed Wendy.

“ADMIT your sin or your friend DIES!” Lucci snarled at her.

“M-My sin?!”

“What are you talking about?!” Romeo shouted.

“I know you’ve been using magic to enhance this boy’s strength by cheering. I could feel it with my Haki. CONFESS! Or I will _feast_.”

“Wendy…”

“Mmmm…” Wendy bit her lip for a moment. “I’M SORRY, ROMEO! I really wanted you to do well, and I didn’t want you to feel bad if you lost too early! Please, don’t hurt him, Romeo had no idea, honest! It was all me!”

“Then his punishment… will be watching you SUFFER!” And Lucci pranced toward Wendy like the ravenous lion he was. Sector MG readied their selves, and Phil cowered behind Oliver, looking the most afraid of the lion.

“Hey, settle down.” said a nonchalant voice.

Lucci skid to a halt and looked over with shock-ridden eyes: the person in question was a baldheaded man in a yellow jumpsuit with red gloves, shoes, and a white cape. His expression was very plain. “I-I-It’s… the Tower Champion.” Shy Mask stuttered, his mask twisting upside-down diagonally. “One-Punch Saitama…”

“Look, the kid was just helping her friend.” Saitama said. “There’s no reason to get all antsy over it. Can’t you just restart him at the bottom or something?”

“. . . .” Lucci sighed and turned back to normal. “Very well.” With that, he was headed toward the exit. “But know this, Maddy.” He looked back at her with a sharp eye. “We _will_ meet again. And I will feast.” He continued to exit.

“He’s a good fellow, isn’t he?” Shy Mask asked. “But I’m afraid we will have to reset Romeo to the bottom floor.”

“Don’t waste your time.” Romeo said. “I think I’ve had enough tournament.”

“Me, too.” Maddy said. “I’m going home.”

“Well, it’s been a blast, Kids Next Door, and an honor having you here. We greatly hope that you join us again, at HEAVEN’S ARENA!”

Romeo stopped by a refrigerator to grab another drink. “Romeo!” Wendy ran up to him. “Romeo, I’m so sorry I cheated! I hope you don’t feel bad, I just…”

“It’s okay, Wendy. I have to admit, I had a lot of fun. And even then, I’m not the only operative who struggled. Sigh… but still… even Maddy couldn’t win. I have a lot more work to do if I’m going to help everyone.”

“But you won’t have to do it alone, Romeo. I’ll be here to make you stronger!”

“Us, too!” Hat Kid cheered, tipping her hat. “We’re a team, aren’t we?”

“Ha ha! Yeah!” Romeo fist-pumped. “Let’s enter the next tournament together!”

“YEAH!” They all raised fists.

“Even though I probably couldn’t do crud.” Phil said.

“Oh, you doubt yourself too much, Phil.” Romeo remarked.

“Excuse me if I don’t wanna become lion chow.” The kids shared a laugh.

**Floor 100**

Rub Lucci entered another dark hallway. “Wasn’t it a little reckless to show her Golden Haki?” A pair of sharp yellow eyes that looked like slits were seen in the darkness.

“I thought it would make the hunt a tad more interesting.” Lucci answered.

“I can’t argue with that.” said a calm voice, belonging to a single eye behind the orange half of a mask.

“I don’t think the Kids Next Door will be staying here for much longer. Let’s return to base-” Suddenly, the lights switched on, exposing their forms.

“Yet ANOTHER hallway restored, THANKS to JANITOR GORDY!” declared the janitor with pride. He looked down and saw the three assassins glaring at him. “. . . . Right… I’ll just be going now.” He snuck away.

“Sigh. Let’s go, CP0.” With that, Lucci and his associates left the tower.

__

_

Agent of CP0  
“Deathstroke” SLADE WILSON

Agent of CP0  
“Forever Young” CHASE YOUNG

_

__

**Koopa Kore**

Twin doors opened as two Koopatrols led Shy Mask into a small throne room. “So… how did it go?” Bowser, Jr. asked.

“Goku ku ku ku! Well, I think I gathered plenty of info on their strongest members, and determined where their weaknesses lie.” Shy Mask said, holding a disc.

“Gwah hah hah! Nice! Dad and his friends will love to see this!”

 

**Heaven’s Arena is from _Hunter X Hunter_ (one of my favorite locations), Yuffie is from _Final Fantasy_ , Lucci is _One Piece_ , aaand… I’ll let you figure out the others. ;3 I think with this chapter, I wanted to showcase that, just because they defeated the Destroyer of Universes, there are still powerful opponents in the universe (keep in mind that they mostly survived via Firstborn power). The next chapter will star our favorite delivery girl, Kiki!**


	3. Kiki’s Delivery Misfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiki is asked to make a pizza delivery to Pirate Emperor Mandy. How will this go?

**You know, for a time, I thought about making a Sector GHI, consisting of Studio Ghibli kids… I suppose I still could, but Kiki can’t be in it now. ;)**

****

**_

Chapter 3: Kiki’s Delivery Misfire

_**

****

**Orchid Bay, Maine**

Orchid Bay was a beautiful seaside town with a rather unique history. Kiki Yamaka heard the stories and wondered if they were true. The minute she soared through the invisible Veil on her broomstick, her eyes were opened: demons of all shapes and sizes were walking the streets amongst the humans, who were blissfully unaware. It was a utopia where demons made home away from the darkness of the Underworld. Kiki imagined that such a town could not exist without chaos, but she would not question it. Still, she thought the town was a lovely place and wanted to study it more, but she remembered the satchel hanging from her shoulder.

Kiki pulled out her map of Orchid Bay and steered her broom skyward, so that her own perspective matched that of the map. With this, she was able to track the place circled on her map: a lone house near the woods. Kiki flew in that direction. Behind the house in question was a garden, and a chubby old woman in a purple flower robe was tending to plants. “Excuse me! Are you Mrs. Jasmine Lee?”

The elder looked up with curiosity. “Well, either you must be here to advertise the new circus in town… or you’re the delivery girl who’s bringing my Faux Flowers.”

“Right you are, Miss! All the way from France!” Kiki reached into her satchel and extracted a package, landing and handing it to Jasmine.

The woman opened it and took out a wide blanket with floral designs. “Perfect! This will fool those Munchers.” Jasmine threw the blanket over an empty area as it grew flowers. A group of baby Piranha Plants bounced out for a healthy snack, but when they ate the Faux Flowers, they wilted. “Ha ha ha! They’re meant to produce hypnotic pheromones to any plant-eating predator.”

“Ki ki ki!” snickered Kiki threw her teeth. “That should keep your garden safe for a while.” Kiki’s phone rang. “Oh, it’s the Postmaster!” She answered, “Yes, Osono-san?”

_“You’ve got another order, Kiki. This man claims his house is in the sky above the southeast coast of the Red Sea. He sounds like a nutcase. Think you can do it?”_

“Of course! A floating house shouldn’t be that hard to spot. Just send it over and I’ll get it there in a blast.” With that, Kiki set her Vanishing Box on the ground. It was connected to a larger box at the delivery post, so when Osono set the package inside, Kiki could pull it out in smaller form from her box, to which it would expand to size.

Kiki took off on her broomstick, about to leave town, but not before an iguana dinosaur caught her eye. The beast was terrorizing a nearby neighborhood, and was battling a 14-year-old girl with a purple streak in her black hair. Kiki flew in its direction and shouted, “HEY, JUNE! Wendy says ‘HI’!”

Juniper Lee looked up at her with a smile. “Well, RETURN THE MESSAGE!” she declared, jumping the iguana-saur’s teeth and kicking down on its head. “And tell her I’ll be seeing her soon!”

Kiki nodded and took off for the heavens. “Hmm… the Red Sea’s kinda far away. This calls for the jet booster!” Kiki opened a tiny compartment and pressed a button. An engine appeared on the base of the broom, blasting off like a rocket. “WOOOOHOOOOO!”

_So, my name’s Kiki. I’m the lone employee of Kiki’s Express Delivery. I attend the Mahoutokoro School of Magic in Japan. On our 3rd year during summer vacation, we have to find a job that makes use of our magical abilities, serving not only wizards, but non-magic people, in order to give people a more pleasant view on those who use magic. Unfortunately, my greatest skill was flying, but I was able to find work in a magic shop and become the delivery girl. Nowadays, owls have been dubbed ‘obsolete’ because people use email to send letters now. But owls can’t carry packages, that’s for sure! …Nor can they be trusted to send bills._

Kiki shut off her engine once she was at the Red Sea. She drew her magical map, which changed from Orchid Bay to match the sea. “And the southeast coast is… that way!” She soared that way. “Let’s see, a house in the sky… hu-! There it is!” She spotted an ordinary yellow, blue-roofed house held up by a cluster of balloons. Kiki flew up and landed on the doorstep, casually knocking on the door. “Hellooo! Package for Mr. Frederickson!”

An old man who was roughly Kiki’s height answered. “We-heh-hell. Looks like that Witch Delivery Service wasn’t a hoax after all. So, where is it?”

“Right here!” Kiki presented the package from her satchel.

“Perfect!” Frederickson tore it open and extracted a missile launcher from the smaller box, much to Kiki’s shock. “This will give those sky pirates what-for!” He limped over to a window and opened it. “GET OFF MY SKY LAWN!” He fired two missiles and destroyed two flying pirate ships.

“Ki ki ki… well, I hope everything goes well.” Kiki said sheepishly. “Good-bye, Mr. Frederickson!” She got back on her broom and leapt off the doorstep.

_Now that I’m a Kids Next Door operative, you would think I would use 4x4 craft to carry out my orders. But flying in a high-tech ship just isn’t a substitute for flying on broomstick. The wind on my face, the incredible view of the world splayed out before my eyes… I’ve seen so many beautiful landscapes and places. This is the world we Kids Next Door have sworn to protect, and the people whose packages I’ve sworn to deliver._

_“Kiki, just got another order: someone in Hawaii is ordering Electro Cookies. I’ve already called the island and made the order, but I’ll need you to travel there and get them. I put the money in your Vanishing Box.”_

“Sure, Osono-san. Where is Birka again?”

_“I heard it’s currently traveling over Russia.”_

“Well, that shouldn’t be too far. I’ll get there in a jiffy!”

_Of course, sometimes having 4x4 craft can be a huge lifesaver._

Kiki was faced with a furious canyon of storm clouds. She pressed another button on her broomstick, and a pink S.C.A.M.P.E.R. materialized around her. Steering the craft with her broomstick, Kiki was able to navigate the storm, dodging every lightning bolt with a start. Once she was at the main island, Kiki disabled the ship and exposed herself to the harsh winds, her hair standing up. She located the bakery on the shopping street and went inside. “Hello, Sir. My name is Kiki. I believe you received a call about some Electro Cookies?”

“Oh-zzzrt, so you’re the kid-dzzzzt.” said the adult Birkan. “Yep, I got ’em right here-zzzt.” He held up a rubber box.

“Thanks! Here’s the money.”

Once Kiki was able to escape the storm, switching off her ship and using the Broom Boost to get to Hawaii. Her magic map changed to match the island state, and an area within a jungle was circled. Kiki flew there and found a training area where Tom Taylor was doing push-ups with five steel blocks on his back. “Excuse me! I’m looking for a person named Gedra?”

“I’M Gedra!” Kiki noticed the Minish on top of the blocks. “So, you brought the Electro Cookies? Wow, I honestly just made that order as a joke, I didn’t think they would actually get here! Just put them on the ground in front of him.” Kiki obeyed and dropped the electric cookies on the ground as Gedra hopped down. “Alright, Tom, open up.”

“Ugh, screw you, Gedr-AAULP!” Gedra used a rock-jab to shove a cookie into Tom’s mouth. Tom was forced to chew and suffer the shocks, making his training even harder.

“Shut up and push, Tom. You’ll have to work triple-time if you wanna match up to Anthony, and you ain’t stopping ’til you can bend Permanite!”

“Ki ki ki… Sorry.” Kiki blushed.

“Like the hustle, kid! Here, have a tip.” Gedra raised a tiny purple bean, Kiki holding her finger down for him to put on.

“Um… Thanks!”

Kiki took off for the heavens again, viewing the direction of Groudon Volcano as the Volcano God was stretching awake after a good nap. “Do we have any more orders, Osono-san?”

_“Not at the moment, Kiki, but I think you’ve earned yourself some rest. Though I’m surprised how well this website is bringing in customers.”_

“Ki ki ki! I guess I added my own magic touch to it!” Kiki grinned.

_“Well, it was certainly a good business decision on our end! I think someone might just be getting a raise soon…”_

“Ki ki ki… I’ll hold you to that! See you later, Osono-san.” She hung up. “Sigh… ’think I’ll go see how Moonbase is doing.” She reactivated her S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and took off for space.

**Moonbase Cafeteria**

“But it was thanks to the KND’s hackers that I was able to get the website popular.” Kiki told her friends. “With the rate we’re going, I’ll have more than enough credits when I return to school.”

“Still can’t believe your school is makin’ you take a summer job.” Phil said, taking another purple pill from his jar and eating it. “The worst WE gotta do is a summer reading.”

“Yeah, my school doesn’t really give us summer homework either.” Oliver replied.

“Well, you guys are lucky. Still, I really love my job. I’ll be sad to give it up.”

“Sakura-chan, you look so beautiful in that dress!” a girl said from a table over. Kiki looked over to see.

“Thanks, Tomoyo-chan, but do you have to tape me? We’re not even on a mission.” Sakura was wearing a bright blue dress with glittering crystals. Kiki recognized her and her teammates as Sector TD from Tomoeda, Japan. Sakura was also a student of Kiki’s school, but her friends were non-mages (except for that Li boy). Every time she would see Sakura, she would always be wearing a new and pretty dress.

Kiki’s eyes directed over to a curtained cafeteria table, where Sector $ had more fancy meals for their lunch. They were always dressed so posh and colorfully. The dress Kiki was wearing was a hand-me-down from her grandma. She was told that it used to be traditional witch’s attire and that Kiki would be a great witch if she wore it. Now Kiki thought she only wore it to avoid hurting Grandma’s feelings. Inside, she would like to wear more pretty dresses and show them off to all her customers. Unfortunately, she already made the logo for her business (a 2-D version of herself in a black dress, riding a broom with a letter attached).

“Oh, that reminds me.” Phil said, ducking under the table and pulling up an orange satchel. “Kiki, I made more Package Bombs and stocked up your other satchel.”

“Oh, thanks, Phil. Ki ki, I guess the villains won’t be ordering from my business anytime soon, ki ki ki!”

“Why do you say your own name when you laugh?”

“Hm? Uh… I don’t know, really.” Kiki blushed. “It’s sort of a force of habit.”

“Really? Even if I do THIS?” Phil set the satchel next to the other one and started tickling Kiki’s armpits.

“KI KI KI KI—PHIL, STOP IT—KIKIKIKIKIKI!”

“Haha, man, you are such a weirdo!”

“She isn’t the _only_ one.” Oliver snickered.

“Geez, why don’t you two find a room?” a snide voiced asked. Phil stopped tickling as they looked back. A tall boy with orange hair and droopy ears with holes in them had approached them.

“Who’re you?” Romeo asked.

“Name’s Lars, from Sector BC. Listen, you’re that delivery girl, right? See this pizza I got in my hand? Some guys asked us to bring it to someone, but we think the job is more suited for a professional. Here, I’ll pay ya 30 bucks in advance.” Lars handed her the money.

“Uh, thanks, but it’s only pizza. Who’m I delivering it to, anyway?”

“See for yourself.” Lars gave her a small slip of paper.

Kiki read the name and address: _Mandy McKenzie – Boogey Coast, 10 miles offshore of Beach City_. Kiki felt a chill travel through her heart. Her teammates looked over her shoulder and gasped silently.

“Isn’t… Mandy… a _Pirate_ Emperor?” Oliver asked.

“Well, now ya know how WE feel!” Lars shouted. “You think we want her ship just sailing right by our town?! That’s why the pizza people asked US to deliver it, but we ain’t takin’ our chances with that monster! Figured you wizards would have a better time than us.”

“You can’t just make Kiki do that!” Romeo stated.

“No.” Kiki took a deep breath. “‘No matter where you are or what obstacles stand in my way… Kiki’s Express Delivery will deliver your package in utmost condition.’ I’ve already taken the money.” Kiki drew her wand and cast a spell to seal the pizza box in a magic package. “I can’t just turn down a paying job. And I can’t show discrimination.”

“But Mandy’s a criminal!” Oliver argued.

“Well, it’s just pizza. It’s practically the same as giving a missile launcher to a retired old man.” As her friends shared confused expressions at this note, Kiki placed the package into her satchel and wrapped it over her shoulder. “I’ll be back soon, guys. I promise.” She grabbed her broomstick and bravely walked out.

“Huh. Better you than us.” Lars remarked.

**Ocean close to Beach City**

Kiki used her map to pinpoint Beach City’s location on Earth. It wasn’t hard as it was just a coastal town west of Florida. It was supposed to be daytime, but the skies were dark as night. It was rumored that the presence of Lord Mandy forced the sky to be dark, but Kiki never believed it was true. The fear could not be more noticeable on Kiki, and no doubt Mandy would feel it coming. Regardless, Kiki steeled herself and flew down to the dark ship surrounded by ghostly flames.

 _“There’s a hole in my head where my BRAIN used to beeee!”_ Django was playing and singing a jolly tune that the pirates sang and danced to. _“My bladder is dry where I USED to peeeee!”_ The only people not impressed were the Division Commanders: Azula of the Flame Division, Cindy Cortix of the Undead Animal Division, Cortez of the Phantom Division, and Rā’s al Ghūl of the Shadow Division. Their tables were on a ledge above the main deck, but below Mandy’s throne.

The bored Pirate Emperor was drinking some Blood Wine when she glanced up and spotted a shadow against the full moon. At that instant, Kiki felt as if death were gazing at her. The crewmen ceased partying and looked to where their captain was staring. Kiki took another breath and slowly lowered her broom down to the level of the commander tables. “…Emperor Mandy… my name is Kiki Yamaka… and I have a delivery for you.” She fearfully pulled the package from her bag. “It’s a… pizza from the pizza place… at Beach City… Don’t worry, this package is just… a magical protection…”

Kiki glanced to her left and met Azula’s fiery, murderous stare, and the glimmering green of Rā’s al Ghūl’s eyes. She glanced right and found Cortez’s single blue eye glimmering in his skull, and the manic look of Mandy’s psychotic daughter. Kiki was helpless prey surrounded by the strongest pirates in one of the most terrifying crews.

“Well? Are you going to bring it or NOT?” demanded Mandy.

Kiki flinched back to reality, gulping and carrying the package up the stairs. She was now directly in front of Lord Mandy, whose head was propped on her hand in boredom. The box was trembling in Kiki’s hands. “Well, here it is!” Kiki quickly said with a smile, placing it on Mandy’s lap. “Just cut it open and the pizza will be there safe and sound in its box! No tip will be necessary, ’kay bye!” She hopped on her broom and soared off like a rocket.

“Sigh…” Mandy drew her sword. “Okay, time to see what’s so special about Beach City pizza.” She violently stabbed through the tape.

 _BOOM!!_ The commander’s area erupted with smoke and fire.

**Moonbase Cafeteria**

Nothing had changed since Kiki had left, returning to her sector’s table with the greatest look of relief. “Siiiiigh. Man, that was so scary. But it actually wasn’t that bad.”

“You sure, kiddo?” Phil asked. “’Cause you… kind of left your bag here.” Phil indicated the orange satchel on the table.

“Oh, no, that’s just my bomb bag. You can tell the difference because the KND logo-” She lifted said bag up: it displayed her delivery service logo, “…on the… bottom. …!” Kiki frantically lifted her current satchel, which read ‘KND.’ “…But, the pizza…” She quickly opened it and drew a package that displayed her logo, symbolizing its magic touch. Kiki undid the package and the pizza box came out. “EEEK!” Kiki’s hair stood as though she were on Birka, and she lost any color on her features.

“Uhh… Kiki?” Wendy spoke worriedly.

“. . . . I gave one of my Package Bombs to a Pirate Emperor . . .”

“Kiki?” Romeo spoke, not hearing her very quiet, nearly breathless voice.

“I GAVE A BOMB TO PIRATE EMPEROR MANDYYYYYYY!!!”

This caught the attention of all operatives in the room. Some of them shared Kiki’s panic. “What’s all the shouting about?!” Cheren ran in. “What about Emperor Mandy?”

“CHEREN!” Kiki zipped over and grabbed the shorter boy by the shoulders, grinning ecstatically. “Thank goodness you’re here! Emperor Mandy’s your aunt, right?! Perfect! You can talk to her, convince her not to kill me!”

“Er, I’m sorry… what’s the nature of your conflict with her?”

“You know those Package Bombs I use in combat? Well, I gave one of them to Mandy on accident, and there’s a chance it blew up in her face.”

“Oh. …Yeah, you’re kinda screwed.”

“WHAT?! B-B-But, we’re the Kids Next Door. We saved the universe a hundred times. Surely, we’d be able to handle a silly pirate crew!”

“Mandy is a cold-hearted woman who commands tens of thousands of demons and brings any who meet her gaze under her control, and she has control of over 500 towns and their resources, and probably a few towns on other planets. And considering most of her crew are demons, they’ll just come back to life. Heck, she might actually have spies that work in Underworld Prison.”

“But the Kids Next Door have WAY more forces than that! If it gets REALLY bad, we can call the Galactic Armada and make short work of them!”

“I don’t want to start a war with a Pirate Emperor right after we restored the FREAKIN’ UNIVERSE!!”

Cheren’s outburst scared Kiki into silence. Cheren sighed. “Kiki… people are still trying to relieve their selves after everything that’s happened. Operatives AND civilians. I just want people to remember what peace feels like.”

“So, I’m just supposed to live in fear until Mandy finds and kills me?!”

“Mandy’s not gonna kill you!” Cheren laughed. “Just… give you nightmares beyond your wildest imagination. So, you’re probably gonna live in fear either way!”

Kiki was clasping her head, heart racing, mind swirling with frightening thoughts. “Mandy is gonna search the whole planet for me. She’ll burn down every town, question each and every person who might have some sort of connection to me. So obviously, she’ll start with Japan, but since I’m a witch, she’ll head STRAIGHT for Mahoutokoro, and the teachers are gonna find out what I did, and then I’ll receive an ‘F’ for the program and probably be expelled, which means NO MORE magic and NO MORE flying, so then there’s NOTHING to stop Mandy from having her way with me, OH GOD, MY LIFE IS OVER!!”

“Kiki, calm down!” Wendy said. “We’ll protect you from them, we promise.”

“And besides, Mandy is a Logia, so it’s not like she would be hurt.” Oliver assured. “You just need to calm down. Everything’s going to be fine.”

They heard alarms outside, recognizing it as a distress call from the Global Tactical Station. The group rushed out to find Lars’ face on the screen. _“PLEASE, HELP US! Mandy’s pirates are destroying the town, th-they’re breaking into our treehouse—AAAH, LEAVE ME ALONE! I’ll give you all the donuts in Sadie’s room!!”_ He ran away.

Panini brought up a satellite image of Beach City, cannonballs blasting aimlessly as pirates marched on the streets and set everything to flames. “It’s terrible, Cheren! Just what is Mandy’s grudge with them, anyway?!”

“Hey, look!” Romeo pointed. “It looks like some of them are gathering at the pizza place!”

Kiki looked closer: those people in question were the four commanders. But more importantly, she noticed the name of the restaurant: Kiki’s Pizza Delivery. “Oh, no… they’re looking for me in the pizza shop. They think I work there! Those people are gonna get hurt because of ME!!”

“I can’t believe they have a restaurant with the same name as Kiki.” Romeo said.

“Then we have to go down there and stop them!” Hat Kid declared. “Don’t worry, Kiki, we’ll make sure you-”

But Kiki was gone. In her place was a Vanishing Box. Oliver bent down and cracked it open, finding a tiny Kiki. “I’m staying in here where she won’t find me! Please hide this box where she won’t think to look!” She pulled it shut.

“Siiigh. Look, just get down there and try to minimize the damage. I’ll put this in my office.” Cheren picked the box up. “Afterwards, I’ll go down there and try to reason with Aunt Mandy.”

**Beach City, Florida**

Mr. Fryman cried as he ran out of his restaurant, his aptly-named hair on fire. Flame spirits were flying into the arcade and possessing the consoles, which captured the customers and started to “play” with them.

Cindy Cortix, Kimaya Heartly, and Django de los Muertos were at the mayor’s house, holding him at sword, Keyblade, and guitar point respectively. “Hand us the Key to the City, or we’ll burn this place to the ground.”

Mayor Dewey was shuddering against his fallen desk. “Th-Th-Th-The Key to the City i-is the property of the Beach City Board of Politicians, a-and is not to be given to any-”

Cindy’s eyes flashed with fear. “AAAAH!” The mayor began frantically waving his arms. “It’s behind the picture of the missus! G-Get ’em off me! Get these filthy seagulls OFF ME! !”

Peedee Fryman (Numbuh Well Done) was stuffing fries into a red gun and blasting flaming fries at the demons closing on their restaurant. “There’s too many! I don’t think this place will hold for much longer!”

“Then we’re left with no other choice.” Ronaldo spoke seriously. He turned and bowed before a poster of three colorful women in fairy clothes making majestic poses. “I beseech thee, O Girl Power Freedom Fairies: descend upon your Rainbow Pony and protect us from the Dark Forces!”

He looked up at his poster, hoping the heroines would jump out. Three beautiful Flare Dancer demons broke through the poster. “YAAAAA!” Ronaldo ran.

The leader of Sector BC, Connie Maheswaran (an Indian girl in a blue T-shirt and yellow shorts), was clashing swords with Rā’s al Ghūl, who had black hair, black clothing with bare muscular arms, and shining green eyes. Rā’s was able to cut Connie’s waist, but Connie seized the chance to stab him in the stomach. She flipped away, clutching her wound, but Rā’s summoned Shadow Clones to attack all at once, Connie barely ducking and slicing all three. She was forced to run when female ninjas charged to attack her.

“I can’t believe we’re wasting our energy on this small, defenseless town.” Rā’s said to Cortez.

“Yohohohoho! There be no greater declaration of war than a bad pizza delivery, amigo.” Cortez replied. He was a skeleton ghost with a blue eye in the left socket, an eyepatch on the other, a classic captain’s hat, and a black coat.

“Well, I’ve got the Key to the City.” Cindy and her group returned. “Is Azula finished destroying the pizza place?”

“Arr, she takes her time with it, she does.”

The aptly-named Pizza Family were cornered in the back of their restaurant, which was burning beautifully in the sapphire embers. Azula was even more vicious than before with her burned, scattered hair. “I had finally gotten my hair JUST the way I wanted it, and your stupid bomb RUINED IT! Now, I’ll ask you again… where, is, KIKI?!?”

“I keep tellin’ you that I’M Kiki!” yelled an African-American girl with a yellow bandanna. “And I have no idea what you’re talking about! I’m not a witch and I DIDN’T send you a bomb!”

“GRRRR!” Azula burst with fire. “Listen, you, if Mandy hadn’t ordered us to not kill anyone, I would have already. But she wants our victims to know fear… and I don’t need fearbending to do that.” The princess abruptly grabbed Kiki and her twin, Jenny by the necks. “NOW, BRING ME THE WITCH!”

“The only witch in here is YOU!” Azula whipped around, finding Romeo Conbolt with a deathly glare.

“Who the hell are YOU, brat?”

“I’m here to stop you!” Romeo cast Ice Flames to douse the blue flames around the restaurant. Azula blasted flames that Romeo dodged before grabbing her with a violet flame and forcefully throwing her back and out of the restaurant. “Get out of here!” he yelled to the Pizza Family. Romeo jumped after and tossed flames to combat Azula while the family was able to escape the restaurant and run away from the fight.

Oliver had already engaged Cortez in combat, casting light spells to damage the ghost while Cortez sent Ember spirits to burn him. Oliver summoned a storm to weaken the spirits and strike lightning on Cortez, but the storm ended in seconds. The pirate grew two extra arms, each with a different sword (and one with a hook) and threw slashes at Oliver, the boy trying to run and heal himself. 

Phil was blasting Skeleton Soldiers off of Stalhorses and Hat Kid threw her hat onto one of the undead horses to possess it. She trampled down some demons, and when Kimaya leapt over to slash the Stalhorse to pieces, Hat Kid rematerialized and threw her hat onto another one, then tried to run over Cindy, who dodged and beheaded the skeleton. Cindy dodged again when Phil shot at her, resulting in Mandy’s daughter shooting a Scare Stare at him.

The next minute, the world turned red and black around Phil as gigantic, venom-drooling cats snarled at him. “AAAAH! OLLIE, HELP!” Phil ran around crying. “THEY’RE GONNA EAT ME! OLLIE, PLEASE!”

“Phil, you’re just fine, calm down!”

Rā’s knocked the sword out of Connie’s hand and was about to do away with the girl. “PROTEGO!” Wendy jumped in the way just in time and blocked him with a shield.

“Hey, you’re that magic girl!” Connie recognized.

“Leave him to me. Go and protect the citizens.” Wendy ordered. She dropped the shield and blew a Sky Dragon’s Roar to blow Rā’s back, but the Demon’s Head recovered and poofed behind Wendy for a quick strike, to which she dodged and countered with Ventus Incendio (or “fire tornado” in layman’s terms). However, Rā’s twirled his sword with equal speed to blow the flames away and slashed with such power that it cut the earth, and would have cleaved Wendy perfectly had she not evaded.

**_Boogey Coast_ **

Cheren Uno leapt out of his R.O.A.D.S.T.A.R. onto the deck of Mandy’s ship. Demons were about to attack him- “Stand your ground!” ordered the Creeper. “He’s Lord Mandy’s nephew. Likely here on a family visit, I’d wager.”

“Where is she?!” Cheren demanded.

“She’s in ’er cabin. Just up there.”

Mandy was playing Wi-Fi on _Mario Kart XX_. She was playing as Peach and racing Bowser, whose player name read _K. Rool_. She lost the race by a few seconds. “Damn you, Kroctus…” There was a knock. “This BETTER be important, Creeper.”

Cheren kicked open the door without a second thought. “Aunt Mandy, why are you attacking Beach City?! You realize I have a sector there!”

“And you realize that no one sends me an explosive pizza without severe punishment?”

“Well, excuse a humble pizza place for trying to get rid of dangerous criminals that are looming just beyond their shore.” Cheren said, deciding to protect Kiki for the moment. _Actually, this probably isn’t gonna help._

“You know, Cheren, earlier during my pirating career, I actually paid a small visit to this town. I was 12, I think. Beach City was peaceful. The people were kind, the weather was nice… unfortunately, _she_ was there. _Mindy_.” Mandy practically crushed the controller in her hands. “That brat’s family just scored a fortune. They were richer than ever. And Mindy…” Mandy clenched her teeth. “She was an even worse monster than before. She was… _nice_. She made herself the friendliest person in town in only a week. The older kids invited her to a party, she flashed her money and ordered the best quality pizza and French fries, and the people happily obliged. Then, they looked at me, at my hideous scowl, not with fear, but mere hatred over the fact that I wasn’t ‘showing a little more love.’”

“What’s your point?”

“Eventually, I just got so sick and left this dump. But now when I look back on it, I remember just how hard I worked, how much I struggled, while Mindy gained popularity through unearned money and kindness alone. Did _Mindy_ ever get possessed by a demon? Did _Mindy_ ever inject herself with 30 Fear Toxins? Did Mindy’s own parents hate her because she was constantly tormented by her own fears? NO! She was a privileged child who never had to fight for anything, surrounded by people that loved her! Well, I won the respect of my crew through fear and power and I’m DAMN well proud of it! And I returned to this city to see if they would acknowledge my new position, and it seems like they have. Believe it or not, they earned my respect when they made that little stunt. But I’m going to make them respect ME!” Mandy shot a glare to Cheren.

The world reddened around the young leader as the corpses of his mother and father lay before him. He drew the Master Sword and found it shrinking in his hand. Mandy smacked him in the head and knocked him down as she walked out. “By the time I’m through, this happy town will know the beauty of fear.”

**Osono’s shop; Koriko, Gotland**

“Yes, Mr. Pines.” Osono said into her phone. She was a young, pudgy woman with ginger hair, dark-brown eyes, and a green shirt with a white apron. “Don’t worry, these Sugar Fairy Spoons are as real as you or me, they’ll spice up any meal you make. Yep, electronic pay is just fine. I’ll have my delivery girl send them over in a jiffy.” She ended the call and began to call Kiki. “Hopefully she’s not too busy with other matters.” However, she heard a faint ringing from the Vanishing Box. Curious, Osono opened it. “GYAH!”

“AAH!” Kiki yelped. “Oh, it’s just you, Osono-san!”

“Kiki! What are you doing in the Vanishing Box?!”

“Uhh… it’s a long story.”

“Well, I suppose it’s good that you’re here. I have a delivery for you; some man in a forest in Gravity Falls, Oregon.”

“No! I mean… Osono-san… I don’t think I should do deliveries for a while.”

“Well, why on Earth not? After all the good business you brought me, it’d sure be a shame for it to end so soon.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just… well… I…I made a huge mistake.”

“What is it, Kiki? Go on, tell me.”

Kiki sighed and chose to explain. Not wanting to worry her too much, Kiki left out the identity of the customer, explained only how she was in KND and used Package Bombs for combat. “Ohh, is that what happened… well, Kiki, it’s okay to feel bad, but hiding in a magic chest whose initial purpose was to help cowards hide isn’t going to help. What you ought to do is return to the customer and tell them it was an honest mistake. Granted, you’ll probably be paying their hospital bill… that is, if you’re lucky. Thank goodness you didn’t make the delivery on behalf of my shop.”

“I promised my mom that I was going to be a good witch. I told her I was ready to take care of myself. Now my school is going to take away my wand. They’re going to be so disappointed in me. I won’t be able to fly anymore! I’ll be stuck on the ground for the rest of my life and have to get a job in archaeology like my dad!”

“Look, Kiki,” Osono lifted her out of the box and set her on her feet, “a witch isn’t condemned for life for making a silly mistake. Heck, professors expect you to mess up all the time! What they really wanna know is how well you own up to your mistakes. That kind of humility is what distinguishes the good wizards from the bad wizards. And I know you’re not a bad witch, Kiki.”

“Sigh… I know, Osono-san… but I’m so afraid.” Kiki faced down at her shoes. “So many things could happen.”

“Do you want me to go with you and help straighten it out?”

“No, I couldn’t get you involved. …Oh, who am I kidding. I’ve already gotten my friends involved—I’ve gotten the pizza place involved, too. All because of my stupid mistake.” Kiki clenched her fists and grabbed her broom from the chest. “Only I can go and fix it. Osono-san… if I don’t come back, I just wanna say, it was an honor working for you.”

“Oh, you’ll be back before you know it, Kiki. Now, hurry along now. The sooner you’re finished, the sooner we can get back to business!”

“Okay!” Kiki raced outside and hopped on her broomstick, beaming with courage. “I’m off to Beach City! Gotta go before Emperor Mandy kills my friends!” She switched on the engine and zipped off.

“Ha ha ha! Fly safe, sweetheart!” Osono waved. “…Wait. _Emperor_ Mandy?” Where had she heard that name before? “PIRATE Emperor?!”

**Beach City**

Oliver used Lumos Solem combined with Reducto to create an explosion of light to break Cortez’s body into pieces. Cortez’s head remained floating as a blue stone was exposed from his coat, charging an energy beam that blasted Oliver across town.

Wendy was surrounded by Rā’s al Ghūl clones, creating cyclones to blow them away, but she was eventually forced to conjure a Protego to recompose herself. However, Rā’s hardened his sword with Armament Haki and was able to crack Wendy’s shield, much to her surprise. “HYAH!” Rā’s was stabbed in the back by Connie, who jumped back as Rā’s about-faced, leaving Wendy to drop her bubble and cast a Jelly-Legs Curse on him, followed by kicking the assassin away with a Cyclone Kick.

Romeo was continuously blowing Ice Flames onto Azula, but her sapphire flames were not running low any time soon. “Heh heh heh.” Azula smirked as Romeo’s flames were dwindling. “It’s impressive that you can force your flames to freeze rather than burn, but it takes more energy to do it. I’ll melt you dry and those pizza fools will share your FATE!”

Cindy sent a swarm of undead cats after Phil, but Hat Kid possessed an Ember to set fire to the cats. Kimaya farted a Gas Bomb and exploded the Ember, forcing Hat Kid out as she lay weakened on the ground. Phil helped her to stand, but it was then they felt an unsettling chill in the air.

“AAAAAAH!” The second Lord Mandy stepped onto the shore, the entire town was awash in fear. Her very body reeked with a dark-red mist, she was fear embodied, and her very presence kept anyone from thinking rationally.

“NO! MOM! DON’T LEAVE ME AGAIN! PLEASE! NO!” Wendy screamed.

“It’s not true!” Romeo cried, holding his privates. “I’m not like my dad! I don’t like older girls, I swear!”

“Please don’t die, Mom! Please, I’ll do anything!” Oliver followed.

“GYAAAH! TURTLES! TURTLES!” Hat Kid screamed. “DON’T EAT MY PARENTS! NO! (Wow, do we all have parent issues?)”

“From now on, Beach City is the property of the Boogey Pirates.” Mandy declared. “As per tradition, we will mount the Boogeyman on a stake in the center of town to establish my position over fear itself, and over YOU.”

“Stop this RIGHT NOW.” declared a brave girl’s voice. Mandy whipped upward and spotted Kiki.

“THERE she is!” Azula snarled. “The WITCH!”

“Kiki!” Wendy exclaimed.

“So, you’re back to join the party.” Mandy said.

Kiki’s skin tingled from the Fear Chi radiating from her. With another deep breath, she set foot on the beach before Mandy. She got to her knees and bowed to the ground. “Please spare these people. They had nothing to do with this. That bomb was mine. I was asked to deliver you the pizza, but I gave you the bomb by mistake because…because I was afraid. I was afraid and I wasn’t focused. So, please don’t hurt these people, Lord Mandy. It was my fault and mine alone. If anyone should get punished, it should be me.”

Her teammates were frozen with worry and shock, anticipating the worst for their friend. Mandy’s commanders were looking with curiosity. Kiki kept her head bowed, not daring to look her in the eye. She heard Mandy draw a sword and hold it down in front of Kiki’s face, allowing them to see reflections of each other. “Would you be willing to cut your arms off?”

Kiki gasped and looked up. Mandy looked inquisitively. “Your hands are what gave me the bomb. You must cut them off and see that they never harm anyone again.”

“N-No! I mean…” Kiki hugged herself, “It was an honest mistake! I’m really, really sorry, but I promise I’ll be more careful from now on! Please don’t make me cut off my hands! Please, I beg you!”

“Well, then we’re at an impasse. You don’t want me to destroy the town, yet you don’t want to punish yourself in their place. What to do, what to do…”

“She said she was sorry!” Wendy shouted. “What do you get out of torturing her more?!”

Mandy shot a glare at her and trapped Wendy in another nightmare. “Hmmm… Well, I suppose I still owe you Kids Next Door for destroying Big Mom for me, and I suppose saving the universe so that we didn’t have to get involved. So, I’ll spare this town… from more torment. But know this.” Mandy knelt down to the young witch. “I’ll remember your face… and I hope you remember mine… on the day that the Grim Glarer Mandy looked on you with murderous intent, and spared your life.” And, with a smile that looked so soft and kind, she said, _“okay?”_

Seeing such a rare look up close was more scary than anything. Kiki couldn’t bring up the words, only nod. Mandy stood and declared, “MEN, we’re leaving. Pick up your toys and get back on the ship.”

“Are you kidding?!” Creeper yelled, holding up the large stake with their former captain, Boogeyman strapped to it. “Do you realize how heavy this guy is?!”

“Can it, Creeper.”

“C-C-Creeper?!” Boogey stuttered. “W-Where am I?! What is this?! W-Why do those people have French fry hair?! Does this place have any lions?!”

In minutes, the entire town was free of demons and pirates and the ship sailed into the horizon. They dropped Cheren on the beach, but the leader was coming to. Kiki held her racing heart as her teammates met up with her. “Guys, I’m so sorry I got you all involved in this.”

“It’s okay, Kiki.” Wendy touched her shoulder. “We all make mistakes sometimes. At least we weren’t hurt too badly.”

“Iiii… wouldn’t be too sure about that.” Hat Kid spoke, indicating the burning buildings and injured townspeople.

“Let’s go around and start healing them.” Oliver suggested, Wendy nodding.

“I’ll call MaKayla and have her timebend the buildings back to normal.” Cheren said.

“You gonna be okay, Kiki?” Phil asked.

“For now, I will be. But I can’t stay. Kiki’s Delivery Service needs to get back on track!” Kiki smiled, hopping on her broom. “A nice flight will get this off my mind. But first, a quick trip to Moonbase to switch out my bags.” And to the moon she soared.

“Good on ya, kiddo.” Phil smiled.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo Fryman still lay half-dead on the floor of the ruined restaurant. He awoke to a shining light, and before his eyes were his heroines. “Never fear, Earthling!” declared Grace Fairy in a gorgeous pose of her slender form. “We are here, to save the daaaay~!” She sang like an angel.

“Girl Power Freedom Fairies… where were you…?”

“We were in the middle of acrobatics class.” answered Afro Fairy, wearing sunglasses over her eyes. “But now we’re here, to save the day!”

The shorter one, Tomboy Fairy, was eating a tire. “I inspire girls to be their self no matter how society treats them!”

“You’re not even the real Freedom Fairies. You’re those lame 2030 knockoffs. Boo hoo hoo…” Ronaldo fainted.

“Hmmm… Well, things seem to be wrapping up here, Fairies.” Grace Fairy said. “COME, Gingerbeer! To Bobopolis!” Their rainbow pony descended, neighing as they mounted her and rode to the sky. Sector BC’s treehouse snapped free of its stem on the distant cliffside and hit the ground. _“OW! My ear holes!”_ Lars yelled.

 

**So yeah, Beach City and all its characters are from _Steven Universe_. They didn’t get it as bad as during the Apocalypse. (You know, when Thanos Power Stoned them all.) Rā’s al Ghūl is from _Batman_ , Cortez is from _Paper Mario: TTYD_ , and Azula is from _Avatar_. (Figure out the other references to win points.) Next chapter will be centered on Oliver!**


	4. Ollie and Allie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver becomes paranoid when his mother is almost injured in a villain attack.

**I really enjoyed the game _Ni no Kuni_ , but I had mixed feelings about Oliver’s general character. True, I might not be able to do any better, but at least Oliver isn’t a main protagonist. :P**

****

**_

Chapter 4: Ollie and Allie

_**

****

**Motorville, Michigan**

Motorville was a small and peaceful town, and as its name implied, it was famous for its cars. Everyone in town was friendly and it was the last place you would expect to have a crime. Well, today was the day.

“BLEH HEH HEH HA!” The neighborhood was being set to embers by Garfield Schurr, better known as Firefly the Second. “Buuurrrrn! Every car must BURN! Let the scent of exploding oil fill the air!” Garbed in dark-green armor, yellow bug-like goggles, and flying with a jetpack, Garfield sprayed his flamethrower on every house and shop, sending townspeople running. Garfield pulled out a mirror and said to it, “Hey, how am I doing, Garfield Schurr?!”

His reflection depicted an actual humanoid firefly with hypnotic eyes. _“YOU’RE DOING GREAT!”_

“GOOD!!”

Wendy used her airbending to increase the size of Romeo’s Ice Flames as they worked to douse the fires. It didn’t help that Garfield also had Pyrobots to run around and add to the destruction. Kiki was helping in one area by throwing Water Package Bombs and Hat Kid was possessing every available fire hydrant in another area. “Bleh heh heh HEH! You wizards are strong, but not strong enough to douse the FIREFLY! OOF!” He was rammed by a flying car.

“Newsflash, Dumbo!” Philip declared, piloting the car with Oliver in the back seat. “You ain’t got nothin’ on us Motorville boys!”

“Guess again!” Garfield slapped a device on the car and instantly caused it to malfunction and fall apart. “So long! Bleh heh heh heh!” He whisked across town, burning more from his jetpack to leave a trail of fire.

Oliver cast a quick spell to repair the car-ship. “Phil, we have to chase him!”

“Ollie, I think he was flying to OUR neighborhood!”

“He was?! MOM!”

“Man, the only reason I lured these kids here was to capture the Hat Kid.” Garfield said to himself. “They’re getting to be a pain. But I haven’t got around to burning THESE houses, yet!” He arrived at another neighborhood that so far had gone unscathed. “Enjoy the FIREWORKS!” Firefly made a tight turn left, dropping a Bob-omb in the process. The Bob-omb blinked and made a tremendous explosion, engulfing the whole neighborhood in flames.

“MOOOM!” Oliver hopped out of the car and ran up to his house. Despite his worry for his friend, Phil kept steering the ship after Firefly. The Tech Wizard fired a retractable claw at Firefly, latching the villain and trying to reel him in like a fish. Firefly zigzagged in every direction, desperate to shake the kid off, but Phil managed to pull himself closer and was able to blast a F.R.A.P.P.E. at his jetpack. Phil fired multiple shots until the pack was frozen and Firefly fell.

“Nooo! Something’s wrong! It’s too cold! The flames need to BURN! My beautiful embers-”

Romeo landed on his back and repeatedly punched him in the head. “Don’t worry! This is gonna burn!” He leapt and STOMPED Garfield’s face against the ground, knocking him out.

Sector MG was able to douse the rest of the fires in town and destroy the stray Pyrobots. As Wendy was using magic to repair most of the damage, neighborhood children were running out and cheering for them. “HOORAY!” cheered a blonde girl named Myrtle. “The Kids Next Door saved us!”

“You guys are amazing!” praised a boy in a purple shirt named Denny.

“No praise is necessary.” Wendy told them. “We were very happy to help!”

“Um… where is Oliver?” Myrtle asked.

“Oh, right!” Kiki remembered. “He was worried about his mom!”

“Come on, let’s go see if they’re okay.” Phil suggested.

The operatives and some of the bystanders made their way to Oliver’s house, which had collapsed due to the flames. Oliver used magic to move the pieces aside and pulled a young woman with a green dress and light-brown hair out of the wreckage. “Mom, are you okay?! Don’t worry, I’ll heal you!” He cast a golden-green glow from his wand, repairing the wounds present on her body.

Alicia weakly awoke to her son’s concerned face. “Oliver…”

“Mom, you’re alive! You’re not hurt too badly, are you?”

“Mmmnn…” Allie helped herself to stand. “I’ll be just fine, Oliver… thanks to you.” She spoke with a kind smile. “Hmm… Our house is in a bit of a mess, though. Shouldn’t be too hard to fix.” She reached into her pocket and drew a cyan-colored wand that wiggled like a snake on one end.

“It’s okay, Mom, I can fix-”

“No need to exhaust yourself any more, sweetie.” Allie said, and with a flick of the wand, the scattered boards, shattered glass, and other pieces flew back into their original positions and repaired the house almost new. “There we go… huff…” She dropped to one knee, “Cough, cough! I think I might have… breathed in a little ash!” She fell on her side.

“MOM, NO!”

“Oh, that poor dear.” said Miss Leila, a chubby woman with light-red hair and a purple dress. “Allie’s always had a weak heart. Don’t worry, I called an ambulance. They’ll be here soon.”

“Huff…huff… Oliver…” Alicia weakly looked up at her son. “Reach into my other pocket, sweetie…huff… I have more vitamins… for Phil…”

A man in an orange hood watched from afar.

**Sector MG Treehouse**

Sector MG had Firefly taken to Arctic Prison and the team explained the battle to Cheren. They returned to their treehouse to rest, but Oliver had not yet rejoined them. “I wonder if his mom is still in the hospital?” Wendy said.

“So, she has heart problems, huh?” Romeo asked. “But couldn’t they use magic to fix that or something?”

“They tried to, but nothing works.” Phil replied. “No one knows why. ’Guess there are just some things magic can’t do.” He popped open his jar of purple vitamins and swallowed one again. “This ain’t the first time something like this happened. One time, me and Oliver were playing in the park, and he fell in the river…”

_“Mrs. Orson! Mrs. Orson!” Phil ran up to her in panic. “Ollie’s in the river! He’s drowning!”_

_“What?!”_

_“HEEELP!” The 8-year-old frantically shook about in the deep water. Allie bravely dove in and grabbed her child, bringing him back to shore. A few of the park-goers gathered around._

_“Are you okay, Oliver?”_

_“Y-Yeah…”_

_“I’m sorry!” Phil shouted. “I shouldn’t-a run down there! I made him chase me!”_

_“It’s okay, Philly. Everything’s all… ohhh.” Allie clutched her chest and fell over._

_“MOMMY!”_

_“Allie!” yelled Mrs. Cartwright. They quickly called for an ambulance, and Alicia was taken to the hospital._

_“Why won’t you let me see my mom?!” cried Oliver to the receptionist._

_“She’s in the operating room right now, I’m afraid we can’t allow visitors. You can sit in the waiting room if you want.”_

_“BUT I WANNA SEE HER NOW!”_

_“It’s okay, Oliver, we’ll see her soon.” Leila assured. “Just calm down. I’ll buy you and Phil some treats.”_

_Oliver waited for two hours, feeling only fear and sadness. He looked up when a nurse approached him. “Are you Oliver Orson?”_

_“Uh-huh?”_

_“Your mother’s just fine. Would you like to see her?”_

_“MOM!” The child raced into the room and resisted the urge to jump onto her bed._

_“Oh, Oliver… I’m so sorry I made you worry.”_

_“I thought you were going to die, Mom! Why did you take the car? Why didn’t you use magic-”_

_“Shhhh. Most people aren’t used to magic. Makes them worried. Besides, if I had, I probably would have been a lot worse.”_

_“Mommy, please don’t leave again! I don’t want you to go!”_

_“Don’t worry. I promise I’ll always be with you, Oliver…”_

“But nowadays, everyone knows about wizards.” Phil said. “Good thing, too. Ollie’s not the only one that worries about her. She’s practically my mom, too.”

“Why?” Kiki asked. “Did she adopt you or something?”

“I guess you could say that. Not that my parents died, I just have issues with them sometimes.”

“Don’t we all.” Wendy said with a blush, thinking of her father.

They heard the fireplace erupt with emerald flames. Oliver climbed out. “Oliver!” Kiki beamed. “Is your mom okay?”

“Yeah… she’s fine. They’ll let her come back home in an hour.”

“That’s good.” Wendy smiled. “I bet it was all thanks to your quick thinking!”

Oliver came to sit on the couch beside Phil. “Hey, guys… why do you think that villain attacked Motorville? I know he’s an arsonist, but of all places, why’d he choose Motorville?”

“’Cause he wanted to get high on burning oil?” Romeo inquired.

“Come on, Romeo…” Wendy said reprovingly.

“What if he chose that place because he knew me and Phil were from there? What if he knew where I lived and wanted to attack my mom on purpose?”

“I admit it is a little weird.” Kiki said. “Do you think villains would try to figure out where we live and attack our hometowns on purpose?”

“Sigh… I think I’m going to sleep at my house tonight.” Oliver sat up and returned to the fireplace.

“Yeah, I’m with you there.” Phil said, following him.

Oliver grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and announced, “Number 3, Wagon Way, Motorville.” The emerald flames brimmed to life as the boys climbed in and vanished.

“Ha ha ha! Wagon Way.” Hat Kid laughed at the name. “What? It’s a funny name for a street.”

**Oliver’s House, an hour-and-a-half later**

Alicia cooked Oliver some steak, peas, and mashed potatoes, while Phil happily stuffed himself with a cheese wedge. “So, boys, how’s the Kids Next Door been treating you? I remember when I was a girl and all that business with GUN happened… I was forced to hide in one of my classmates’ houses.”

“Oh, they’ve been treating us just fine, Mom.” Oliver replied. “I even showed some Moonbase kids a little alchemy. They think it’s cool!”

“That’s good, Ollie! What about you, Phil?”

“Oh yah, ’t’s great.” Phil said through chewing. “’Made friends with this giant girl from Sector GT. Her name’s Ally, kinda like yours!”

“Hm hm, it’s a small world we live in, isn’t it? You see, boys? I told you that one day, people will be ready to accept wizards and learn that magic exists. Just like the incident with benders, it only took a god destroying the universe to convince them.”

“Yeah, but… do you really think it’s a good thing, Mom?” Oliver asked. “What if people are going to just get more afraid? What if people will try to hurt us? Like that villain?”

“Sigh, it’s true that some people won’t be very accepting, and some may even be violent. But as long as we have good people like you and your friends to protect us, we’ll be fine, Oliver.”

“Yeah… I guess you’re right, Mom.”

“Of course. Now, get ready for bed soon, both of you.”

“Come on, it’s summer!” Phil whined.

“Well, good Kids Next Door operatives need to be well-rested to fight all those dangerous criminals.”

“She’s right again, Phil.” Ollie remarked.

“Mama’s boy.” Phil retorted, earning a glare from his friend.

**The next morning**

Their slumber seemed to go by in a wink. The boys were up nice and early to catch some morning cartoons. Allie scooped up some Floo Powder and was about to throw it in the fireplace. “Well, I’m off to the store. Call if you need anything.”

“Okay, Mom. Come back soon.”

Allie threw the powder in, the emerald flames bursting up so powerfully that ash flew out and trapped Allie in a coughing fit. “MOM!” Oliver screamed, running to her aid as she fell on her back.

“Cough, cough! Oliver… nnn…” She fainted.

“MOMMY, NO!” Oliver awoke in his bed with a start.

“Oliver!” Allie ran into his room. “Sweetie, what’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”

“A…A dream?” He was still in his bed and pajamas, alright.

“Hm hm hm.” Allie smiled. “I’m still here, sweetie. No need to worry.”

“Sigh…” He caught his breath. “Mom, are you going to the store today?”

“Well, we’re a bit short on groceries.”

“If you’re gonna use the Floo Network, let me do it for you! A-And hold your breath in case the ash comes out!”

Allie chuckled, “Sweetie, Miss Leila’s store is just down the street. All I need are my legs and a magic satchel, easy.”

“Oh, right… hehehe.” Ollie blushed.

**Sector MG, around noon**

_“The people of Motorville have made quick recoveries after Firefly’s violent attack, thanks to the talented mages of Sector MG.”_ Melody was saying on the KNN. _“The incident actually marks the 53rd attack by a Brotherhood villain in a single week, most of which involve the hometowns of various sectors and operatives. Are these supervillains trying to step up their game? Are they finally making up for their 20 years of being frozen? Questions like these make us wonder, what happened to all the heroes who helped our parents during the Firstborn Quest? We could’ve really used their help, like, SEVERAL times.”_

“Sigh, the KNN’s not the same without Danny.” Phil said. “I mean, I know what happened to him, but still.”

“I’m surprised how well she’s coping.” Wendy said. “Lee told me she kinda stopped for a while after she learned about the Apocalypse.”

Oliver was absentmindedly eating a sandwich. For some reason, he couldn’t stop worrying about his mother. _“Uh-oh! We just got breaking news!”_ Ollie looked up. _“Firefly has escaped from prison and he’s on his way to Motorville to finish the job! An Arctic Base guard reports that he claimed, ‘This time I’ll leave NO survivors!’”_

“NO!” Oliver jumped out of his seat and ran to the fireplace. “GUYS, COME ON!”

“W-Where are you going, Oliver?!” Wendy yelled.

“Weren’t you listening?! Firefly’s coming back! TO MOTORVILLE!” He threw the powder in and jumped in. His friends exchanged worried glances.

**Oliver’s House**

Oliver came tumbling out of the flames. “MOM, YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE, HE’S COMING!”

“What?! Who’s coming?”

“The guy from yesterday, the arsonist!”

Sector MG scrambled out of the flames. “Oliver, how do you know Firefly is-” Wendy tried to ask.

“WENDY, create a bubble shield around this house—NO, this whole town! WAIT, Firefly could already be in here—we have to evacuate the town! TELL EVERYONE TO JUMP IN MY FIREPLACE!”

Romeo and Kiki hurried outside, looking around. Kiki rode her broom to the sky and searched for any sign of the arsonist. “I don’t see anything!”

“B-But they said on the news!” Oliver stuttered.

“No they didn’t.” Wendy replied. “Melody started talking about the new sport, Super Soccer. That’s when you panicked.”

“There, there, Oliver.” Alicia patted his shoulder in comfort. “If anything does happen, I promise I’ll call you.”

“But what if you can’t reach the phone in time?!”

“Then I’ll tell Miss Leila or Myrtle to call you, okay?”

“But what if-”

“Dude, chill out.” Romeo told him. “Look, why don’t we go up to Moonbase and challenge the other operatives to some games? Nothing like a little rivalry to cheer us up!”

“Sigh… Good idea. I need to get my mind off… everything.”

“Yeah, ’cause with all this crying, you might as well be a girl.” Phil remarked. “OW!” Kiki whacked him with her broom.

**Moonbase Arcade**

“Seriously, Ollie?” Phil asked. “Of all the games, you wanna play THIS one?”

Oliver was playing _Circus Baby’s Ice Cream Service_ , an 8-bit game about a female clown with red hair in pigtails traversing levels and shooting ice cream at kids, who would smile gaily and dance in place. “Call me self-centered, but I wonder if _her_ name is Kiki, too?” Kiki remarked.

“It’s a small world.” Phil shrugged.

When Oliver fed all the other kids ice cream, he found a sundae at the end of the level. He was not supposed to cross the goal, but rather rush back to the beginning of the level before the time runs out. …Oliver frowned when Circus Baby turned into a scarecrow. There were 10 seconds left. He reached the beginning of the level. Three seconds left. Then, he watched as a little girl who looked like his mom walked onto the screen. She happily strolled up to take the ice cream. In an instant, the scarecrow drew a knife and STABBED her in the head.

“NOOO!” Oliver bolted out of the room like lightning.

“Where’s he going now?!” Wendy shouted as they pursued him.

Without waiting for his teammates, Oliver boarded somebody’s S.C.A.M.P.E.R. and set its coordinates for Motorville.

**Motorville again**

The ship landed on Oliver’s street, the boy running to his house and gasping when he spotted his mom answer the door for a delivery man with a package. “STUPEFY!” Oliver whipped his wand at the man and stunned him senseless.

“OLIVER!” Alicia shouted. “What’s the matter with you?!”

“Get away from him, Mom! He’s going to kill you!”

“Kill me?! Oliver, this is Mr. Burt, our mailman! I saw these beautiful plates on the Internet and decided to order some.” She flicked her wand and removed the spell, helping the man to stand. “Mr. Burt, I’m very sorry.”

“It’s okay, Allie… but I think the plates are broken.”

“Oliver, what do you have to say for yourself?”

“Mom, are you blind?! That isn’t a package, it’s a bomb! TRANSFIGURO!” He cast a spell and transformed Allie, Burt, and the package into toads. He gasped. “Mom, I’m sorry! I’ll change you back!” He zapped his mom again and made her human.

Allie cast a spell to change Mr. Burt back and approached her son with an infuriated look. “Look, Oliver, you are really trying my patience! I’m sorry that I scared you yesterday, but if you keep over-reacting like this, I’ll have no choice but to take your wand away.”

“There you are, Oliver!” Sector MG caught up. “What’s going on?” Wendy asked.

“I’ll TELL you what’s going on! Everybody’s trying to kill my mom! Including YOU!” He angrily aimed his wand at his team.

“What?!” Phil started. “Ollie, you’re crazy!”

“I WON’T LET YOU! TRANSFIGURO!” He turned Wendy into a dove. “TRANSFIGURO!” Turned Kiki into a cat. “TRANSFIGURO!” Turned Hat Kid into a frog.

“SOMNUM!” Alicia cast a pink mist onto Oliver and put him to sleep. She then proceeded to change the kids back to normal.

They all gathered around the fallen boy. “I don’t understand what’s wrong with him.” Wendy said.

“I don’t, either.” Allie shook her head. “But one thing’s for certain… this behavior isn’t natural.”

“Uuuuh…” Oliver shook in his sleep. “M-Mom!… Get away from her… Get away!…”

“There’s something in his head, alright.” Allie stated seriously, lifting her son with both arms. “And I’m going to find out what. As soon as I make him more comfortable. Hoof.” She slumped a little.

“I’ll help you.” Romeo held him up from the other side.

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to shrink him?” Hat Kid asked.

“Please, what sick woman would shrink her own son?”

**Ollie’s Room**

Allie set Oliver comfortably on his bed. Sector MG stood on either side as Alicia readied her wand. “Don’t worry, Ollie-boy, this won’t hurt a bit. Legilimens!” In a flash, her very soul whooshed into Ollie’s body. (Play “Tears of the Light” from _Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep_.)

Alicia landed in a junkyard with piles of cars and an orange, smoggy sky. Her son was laying on the ground, so she ran to pick him up. “Oliver!”

“Nnn…” He awoke groggily. “Mom…”

_“Now, what would she be doing in a dangerous place like this?”_

“Who’s there?” Allie looked around. “AAAAH!” She was picked up by a giant hand.

“MOOOM!”

Towering over them was a decrepit man with the hat and face of a scarecrow. _“How ironic. You risked everything to keep her safe, but your fears have brought her here, in the palm of my hand.”_

“LET MOM GO! CONFRINGO!” Oliver fired blasting spells at the titan.

Affright was completely unphased by his magic. _“There is nothing you can do to save her. She will die, and you will have only yourself to blame.”_

Alicia whipped a spell and broke free of the arm, landing on her feet. “Who are you?! What are you doing in my son’s mind?!”

 _“Who am I? Why, I am the terrifying villain that is going to kill you, because you are too vulnerable, and Oliver is too weak to protect you. He will forever live in fear, knowing that. There is only one way to rid himself of those fears.”_ Allie looked in horror when Oliver faced her with dark eyes. _“By ridding himself of the burden of protecting you.”_

“Oliver…”

The boy whipped a blasting spell at his mom, Allie dodging and countering with Stupefy. Oliver whirled his wand and conjured a massive fireball, forcing Allie to sprout up a wall of ice, still knocking her down when the fireball impacted. “Expelliarmus!” She tried to disarm him. “Expelliarmus!” Oliver quickly countered the spells and made lightning strike down on her. Allie was brought to her knees, but was able to block when Ollie cast smaller fireballs. Suddenly, Oliver shot a Pulse Spell and knocked Allie on her back. The dark-hearted boy approached her with the intent to murder.

_“Destroy her… relieve yourself of the burden… After all, what do you need a mother for? You have the Kids Next Door now. They can provide you with more than she ever could. Remember those kids who called you a crybaby and a mama’s boy? This woman, your greatest fear, makes you weak. But if she were gone, then you could truly be free.”_

“Oliver… I know for a fact you don’t believe that.”

The wand twitched in Oliver’s hand. He resisted the dark temptation. “I…I’m sorry, Mom.” He began to cry. “I’m sorry I’m such a burden to you. I’m sorry I’m killing you!” He dropped to his knees. “It’s always been you and me from the beginning. Your life could’ve been so much easier if you didn’t have me. You work so hard for me, even though you have breathing problems. You have to spend so much money on me… and then I found Phil and made you take care of him, too. I almost got you killed… and now that I’m an operative, bad guys are gonna hurt you more. I’m a burden to you, Mom. Admit it.”

Alicia got down and hugged her son. “Sweetheart… I never wanted to tell you this, but… when you were born, you didn’t cry. Your heart was weak, too. Your father was already gone, but I wanted you to live. So… I used a spell to give you half of my life force. It was just enough to make sure you would live a full life, and I would be able to raise you.”

“Th-Then I really _am_ killing you.”

“No you’re not, Oliver. It was my choice. I wanted you to live, happy and healthy. To make all sorts of friends and go on adventures together. I could never hate having such a good boy for a son. Oliver… do you remember when I told you about my dream? To live in a world where wizards didn’t have to hide and they can live in harmony with benders, normal humans, and everyone else? I think that time has come, Oliver… and you get to experience it. Both you AND Phil, regardless of your origins. So please, don’t waste your energy worrying about me. Go and live in this new world. And even if I’m gone, know that I will always be here to guide you.”

“Sniff… Mom…” Oliver softly hugged his mother. They shared a warm embrace, bringing light to this nightmare. The illusion of Affright faded away. (End song.)

Since Allie was taking a while, Wendy decided to step outside. There, she found Myrtle on the doorstep. “Oh. Sorry, I was just wondering how Oliver’s doing. I was watching earlier and…”

“I understand.” Wendy smiled. “You must be a friend of his.”

“Yes. My name’s Myrtle. Me and Oliver met when we were 11. I had this sickness where I couldn’t come outside, so I was always watching him and Phil work in the garage from my bedroom. Phil called me ‘Starey-Mary,’ but Oliver felt bad for me, so one day, he decided to sneak in my house when my parents were gone. I told him about my condition, and to help me feel better… he showed me his magic. He changed the color of my dress, made himself small and danced with my toys, and even holographic fairies. Of course, one time, he tried to bring my toys to life.”

_Oliver tapped his wand to a stuffed doll of a creature with a lantern nose. The two gaped as the toy jumped to life. “KNICKERS! I’m alive, en’nt I?! This is a TIDY, TIDY DAY! Hey there, littlies, can we be butties?!”_

_“AAAAAHHH!” The kids fell back in fear. “OLIVER, GET RID OF IT!” Oliver cast another spell to make the creature explode into stuffing._

“He he he… it was funny, though. He snuck in any day that he could, and he made me so happy… And one day, I was so happy that I wanted to go outside and play with them. …I was perfectly fine. Not sick at all. It was like he cast a charm on me and cured me completely.”

“Awwww. That’s such a sweet story. So, are you in the Kids Next Door?”

“Oliver asked if I wanted to join once. But I didn’t think I was right for it. Oliver’s been telling me about his own and other peoples’ adventures… it just sounds too dramatic for me. ’Guess there are benefits to being non-magic.”

“I don’t blame you there.”

“Wendy!” Romeo yelled from inside. “He’s awake!”

Wendy and Myrtle excitedly ran upstairs to see him wake up. “Nnnnhh… what happened?”

“Oliver!” Alicia embraced him in a hug.

“Mom…” Oliver touched his woozy forehead. “I can’t remember what I was doing… I felt like… I was trying to hurt you…”

“You were just having a bad dream, sweetheart. But it’s over now. You’re all better.”

“You really gave us a scare there, Kiddo.” Phil said.

“So, what exactly happened to him?” Myrtle asked.

“I don’t know how, but Oliver was being plagued by a nightmare spirit.” Allie explained.

“It wasn’t Lord Mandy, was it?!” Kiki panicked.

“It didn’t seem like it. It was some kind of man that looked like a scarecrow.”

“A scarecrow?” Wendy repeated.

“Do we know any villains like that?” Romeo asked.

“Well, sounds like you kids have another mission.” Allie said. “They’re going to be needing you, Oliver.”

Oliver smiled. “They sure will, Mom. But I’ll be sure to come to you if I need some help. Is that okay?”

“It sure is, sweetie. No matter what happens, I’ll always be here to guide you.”

**A dark lair**

The hooded man watched the display via a hidden camera in Oliver’s room. Affright pulled back his hood, his bright yellow eyes focused on the yellow liquid in the syringe in his hand. “The three ounces of toxin I injected him with lasted a while… but it wasn’t strong enough.” He turned to a clawed gauntlet on a table. “No matter. I’m certain I can make it ready by Halloween.” The eye on the gauntlet’s palm glowed a bright pink.

 

**Oh yeah, _Ni no Kuni II_ comes out next year. And judging by the trailers, oh boy, is it riddled with clichés. :XD: So anyway, you know how almost each sector has at least one non-human member? …Guess who that is here. (I mean, besides Wendy.)**


	5. Rataphilly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Philip's secret is revealed as he remembers how he met Oliver.

**So, this chapter was kinda foreshadowed a lot.**

****

**_

Chapter 5: Rataphilly

_**

****

**Motorville; five years ago**

A stormy night plagues the sky of Motorville. Rain furiously flooded the streets as a simple mouse scampered to escape the storm, finding its way into a hole in the side of a house.

Young Oliver was tucked into his bed, provided a nightlight to keep calm during the storm. The boy heard a bump and gasped with a start. He looked to the dresser on his left, and the dark area underneath it. Feeling something was there, Oliver climbed out of bed and crawled to it. …A mouse peeped around one of the legs. “Ah!” Oliver backed up in shock. The mouse seemed startled, too.

Oliver carefully crawled forward again. The mouse cautiously peeped out at the human child’s face. “…Are you hiding from the storm?” Oliver asked. The mouse nodded. “It’s okay. I’m scared of storms, too. I’ll let you stay. …You don’t have rabies, do you?” The mouse shook. “Good. Would you like something to sleep on?” It nodded. “Okay. I’ll let you have some of my socks.” Oliver opened his dresser and pulled out two white socks, laying them down under his nightstand. The mouse crawled out and settled onto the socks. “Ha ha ha! You know how to make yourself comfy! …Well, good night. But please don’t chew my socks, okay?” The mouse nodded. With that, Oliver returned to his bed, and the little mouse fell into slumber.

The next morning, Oliver awoke to a beautiful sky, the wet roads and plants glistening in the sunlight. His new mouse friend was still under the nightstand. “You’re still here?” It nodded. “Well, the storm is gone now. You can go home.”

…The mouse shook. “You don’t… wanna leave?” Nod. “You wanna stay here?” Nod. “Hmmm… I’m not sure if my mom will let me keep a mouse. If you stay, you’ll have to take baths and learn to use the toilet.” It shrugged. “But if you can do all that… I guess it would be okay. Hmm, but what should I name you?… I got it! I’ll call you… Pipsqueak!”

“. . . .” The mouse looked dumbfounded.

Oliver picked him up. “Come on, Pipsqueak.” He carried him downstairs.

**Moonbase Gym; present time**

Sind Diego propped his foot on the giant soccerball. “All right, the score is 4-4! Only one team is gonna take home the goal!” Sind was in a team with Romeo, Jinta, Anthony, and Chris, playing against Karin, Morgiana, Ruby, Maddy, and Sheila. Anthony and Maddy were both goalies. “Get ready because I ain’t holding back this time!” Sind kicked the ball to Chris, who sent it at Jinta, who kicked it right to Maddy, but she easily jumped in its way and blocked the giant ball.

Sheila rushed over and sent it to Karin with a mighty kick, who in turn sent it to Ruby, who jumped and used both feet to kick it at Anthony. Romeo jumped in the way and stopped it with his foot, and Chris kicked it at Sind, who charged a greater kick with the intent to bowl over Maddy. Just then, Morgiana flew up and kicked the ball at the exact opposite side and same time as Sind. The Fanalis’s kick was superior to the giant’s, so Sind toppled over, and Karin dealt a double-kick to send it to Anthony and bowl him over.

“YEAH! GIRLS WIN!” Ruby cheered.

“WHAT THE CRUD, SIND?!” Jinta shouted at the embarrassed giant. “I thought we had an advantage with you!”

“S-Sorry! Those girls are just scarier than I thought.”

“You boys are lucky that we didn’t ask Mocha to join.” Maddy remarked. “You wouldn’t have gotten a single point.”

“Grrrr! Alright, let’s go again!” Jinta demanded. “This time, I say we use our hands!”

“That’s not how it works, Jinta.” Karin remarked.

Outside, some of their sectormates were sitting on the floor in a circle while Naoko Yanagisawa of Sector TD showed them a picture from a book, depicting smiling, colorful fairies with glass hammers. “It’s said that Carpenter Fairies are responsible for the creation of every major building in the universe. And anything created by a Carpenter Fairy cannot easily be taken down.”

“Hah!” Phil laughed. “These fairytale writers will think of anything.”

“I wouldn’t believe anything is impossible in this universe.” Hibiki Lates replied.

“What do you think, Haylee?” Prince Raleigh asked.

“Oh, I believe in them. But I also believe in the superior craft of the Legoans.”

“Guys, watch out!” Sind yelled, and the soccerball burst through the doorway and crushed the sitting group.

“Oww… I guess Carpenter Fairies didn’t build this one…” Naoko grunted.

Phil’s wristwatch rang, and Wendy’s worried expression appeared on it. _“Guys, we have to get back to the treehouse! I’ve just been told some villains are attacking it!”_

“What?!” Phil exclaimed.

Romeo ran out. “Come on, Phil!” He grabbed the boy by the collar and quickly dragged him away.

**Sector MG Treehouse**

Kiki rashly steered the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. into the hangar and retracted it into her broom. The kids raced into the living room with wands and weapons ready. “STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU- eh?” Wendy stopped, the six switching from fierce to baffled expressions. Not only was the living room clear, but it looked completely unscathed.

The teammates went around to their individual rooms. Wendy’s room was clear, Romeo’s room was fine, nothing was out-of-place in Phil’s room…

“I didn’t find anything, did you?” Oliver asked Hat Kid once back in the living room.

“Uh-uh.” She shook.

“GUYS, I found a note!” Kiki yelled over by the TV.

The group hurried over as she showed them the note in question. _If you want them back, drop the Hat Kid at the top of the Rocky Mountains._ Signed with the Brotherhood logo.

“M-Me?…” Hat Kid nervously tipped her hat.

“But what did they take?” Romeo asked.

“Nothing seemed to be missing from my room.” Kiki replied. “I can’t imagine what they would’ve taken that’s so important.”

“What if they kidnapped our friends or family back home?!” Oliver asked in panic.

“You have a point.” Wendy agreed. “If they attacked Motorville, the villains could know where the rest of us live, too. Let’s split up and search our homes. But I think Hat Kid should stay with me in case someone tries to ambush her. Contact us immediately if you run into trouble.”

“Phil, since you and Oliver are from the same town anyway, I think you should stay here in case they come back.” Romeo advised.

“Gotcha. I’ll look around and see if I can find any more clues.”

“Okay, team. Let’s hope we all make it back soon.” Wendy said. With that, they all headed to the fireplace and took turns using the Floo Network. Soon, only Phil remained.

“Wait, what am I thinking?” Phil smacked his forehead. “I can just check the cameras to see what they took.”

Phil headed to the camera room and played back the footage for the last hour. “Yeah, they were definitely here.” An image of the outside of the treehouse depicted a swarm of Killer Moth’s moths and Candy Pirates bombarding the treehouse with projectiles, only for defense lasers to shoot them away. “But they didn’t even try to get inside. No one else is inside either… wait a minute.” One of the monitors was static. “That’s the camera outside… MY room!”

Phil raced to his room and searched around again. Gasping, he ran to open his top drawer. “My backup jar of vitamins is missing! Then that means…” His watch rang. Phil scrambled to grab the other jar from his pocket and tear it open. “Good thing I still have this one.”

“YAH!” The villain Katnappé suddenly flew out of a portal and KICKED Phil from behind. His vitamins spilled all over the floor. “So, figured it out, did you?” Katnappé said with a smirk, pinning Phil under her feet. “That’s right, we took your vitamins, and if you want them back, your friends better do what we asked.”

“Nngh!” Phil tried to grab the fallen vitamins, but Katnappé’s Super Kitties swatted them away. “But how did you find out?!”

“Easy. When Affright snuck into your house, he saw the delicious little form you had taken.” Phil’s heart raced with fear. “And he deduced that these vitamins were the reason. So, tell me: do your friends know? Or, is it just the boy.”

Phil’s wristwatch rang. _“GUYS, HELP! I’ve been captured by-”_ Oliver’s voice cut to static.

“OLLIE!”

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. But Affright had something special planned for you.”

Phil’s body began to glow, and his fear increased when he began to shrink into his clothes. “Oooo, I see it’s happening. I wonder how your precious friends will treat you now? It’s going to be purrrrfect. Hm hm hm hm hm!…”

**Five years ago…**

Alicia tapped her wand to the little mouse, who sneezed from the magic dust. “There. Now our new friend can talk to us.”

“Really? Can you speak now?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah, I guess I can.” Pipsqueak replied. “Now, let’s get something straight here, Dum-Dum, the name’s not Pipsqueak, it’s Philip.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t know mice had names.”

“Well, we do. And if nothing else, I’m smart enough to name myself. Heck, I can even give myself a surname. Like… Blakely!”

“Hm hm hm!” Alicia laughed. “Welcome to the home, Philip Blakely. We hope you enjoy it here.”

Later in the day, Phil was watching Mr. Cartwright throw some old car parts in a local garage. Oliver spotted the mouse and walked up. “Whatcha doin’, Phil?”

“Why are people always leaving stuff in that garage?”

“I dunno. They just can’t think of a better place to leave their junk.”

“It’s such a waste! I sneak in there every day, and there ain’t nothin’ wrong with ANY of that junk! Heck, you can even put some of it together and make all sorts of cars! Believe me, if I was any bigger, I would be putting that garage to more use.”

“Hmmm… Well, maybe we can _both_ build something.”

“What do you know about building cars?”

“Er, not much… but if you tell me what to do, I bet we can do it.”

“Hey, that’s not a bad idea.”

Oliver and Phil would spend their free time building cars, namely small go-karts that Oliver would drive around town, Phil excitedly riding his head. People would smile at him, and they would always see Oliver chasing his new pet mouse around the park. Of course, there was one incident where Oliver chased Phil down a hill to the river and fell in. When his mom saved him, she had to be hospitalized due to her heart condition. She came out of it okay, at least, and Oliver never held it against Phil.

They had been friends from the moment they met and they almost never left each other’s side. But when Oliver was 10, it was time for him to go.

“He’s going to magic school?” Phil asked.

“Yep.” Allie nodded. “Oliver starts his first day in Ilvermorny this August. He’s going to become a full-wedged wizard!” She ruffled her son’s hair.

“Haha! Moooom!”

“So, can… I go with you?”

“…” Oliver frowned. “Uh… I dunno, Phil. I mean, I would like for you to come… but I’m worried how other kids would treat you. Rats and mice are common guinea pigs for wizards. Even more than guinea pigs.”

“Oh… well, you have a point there, Ollie. I wouldn’t wanna be involved in that. But listen, don’t come back wearing some goofy wizard’s outfit, okay?”

“Haha, okay, Phil. Don’t worry, I’ll still be the same Ollie you know and love!”

Of course, three days without his master is enough to make a mouse feel lonely. His life felt empty without Oliver. Phil watched from the bedroom window as Denny was racing his dog outside, and other children were immersed in their own activities. But Phil knew what would happen if he tried to join them.

_“EEK, A MOUSE! DADDY, THERE’S A MOUSE! GET RID OF IT!”_

_“GO AWAY, you filthy rodent! Leave, get out of here!”_

Phil saw Alicia washing dishes and approached her nervously. “Hey… Mrs. Orson?”

“Hm?” Allie heard the squeak and turned around. She cast the Nature’s Tongue spell on Phil. “Did you need something, Phil?”

“M…Mrs. Orson… I…I wanna be a human!”

“A human?”

“Yes! I’m sick of feeling so small and dependent on you guys. I’m tired of people treating me like a rodent. If I was a human like you, I could do things for myself! Build my own cars, get my own food, make friends with other humans… Allie, I know I’m asking a lot, but do you know any magic that could do that?”

“Hmmm… Well, Phil, an ordinary transfiguration spell would only last a few minutes… but I am familiar with someone who specializes with transformation. Perhaps if I told her about your dilemma, she might be able to help you.”

“Thanks, Mrs. O. Really, it means a lot.” Phil smiled with gratitude.

Just a couple days later, Alicia received something in the mail: a jar of purple pills. She dipped one into her hand and held it down to Phil. “Here, Philly. All you have to do is eat one. Don’t worry, it’s safe.” Phil put the whole thing in his mouth and bit hard.

“WAAAAH!” In an instant, the mouse grew to become a human child with blonde hair. “H…Hey… it worked!” He felt around himself.

“Yes, that’s great, Phil.” Allie held her eyes shut. “Except for one flaw.”

“WAH!” Phil quickly covered himself. “I’m naked!”

“That’s okay! I’ll fit you in some of Oliver’s spare clothes.”

Phil squinted his eyes. “Mrs. O, everything seems kind of… blurry.”

“Oh, dear… well, she did say that nearsightedness might become a side-effect of changing forms. I’ll have to take you to the eye doctor.”

Later in the day, school was out for Oliver, and he came riding home on his magic school bus. When he entered the house, he was shocked to see their visitor. “Well, good to see ya, kiddo.”

“Huh? Who are you?” Ollie asked the kid who was about a year older than he was.

“You don’t recognize me, Ollie? That’s a shame, ’cause even with your blurry form, I could still tell it was you.”

“Wait a second… Philip… is that you?”

“In peach flesh and red blood! …Well, it was already red, but still.”

“PHIL!” Oliver grabbed his friend in a hug. “I don’t believe it! How did you…”

“Your mom got me these.” Phil held up his vitamins. “I take one every hour so I can stay like this. But if I eat too many in one hour, I’ll get sick. And according to your mom’s source, if I take enough, this form will stay permanent. I’ll be able to grow up and age like a real human!”

“That’s incredible, Phil! …But… how are we going to explain this to the neighbors?”

“I may have to work a bit of magic on their memories.” Alicia mentioned. “Make them think Phil is a boy who’s always lived with us. After all, it’s not really a lie.”

Needless to say, Phil enjoyed his new life as a human, and he still stuck with Ollie whenever he could. He even joined his friend to Arctic Training, and later to Sector MG.

“Phil, why don’t you wanna tell our new friends your secret?”

“Because I don’t wanna be thought of as… some animal or a rodent. I wanna be treated like a person. Besides, whenever I go to sleep, it takes a little longer for me to change back when the hour is passed. I think before long, I can actually stay this way forever.”

“Even so, I don’t think they would treat you differently. You’re still a person at heart.”

“Just don’t tell them, Ollie. Please?”

“Okay, Phil. But sooner or later, they’ll find out. …And it could lead to an awkward situation.”

**Moonbase; present time**

Katnappé threw Phil into a portal once his transformation was done. The little mouse was gazing down a massive metallic hall. “I’m in the Moonbase… but why would she bring me here?” He about-faced and spotted a pair of boots, gazing up with shock at the surprised female guard.

“IT’S A RAT!” The girl rapidly shot at him with her S.C.A.M.P.P.. “SHOOT IT!”

“I’m trying!” the male guard shouted.

“WAAAH!” Phil frantically ran about and dodged their lasers, scampering down the hall. “WAIT, STOP! I’m not a mouse, I’m a person! EYAAAH!”

“Darn, it got away.” the girl said.

“I was kinda missing on purpose. I mean, would YOU wanna pick up a dead mouse?”

“What? We’re wearing gloves.”

Phil hid around the corner to catch his breath. “Man, that was close. I’ve gotta contact the others somehow. …Scratch that, I’ve gotta get one of these operatives to help me contact them. There’s gotta be someone in this base that doesn’t have musophobia.” With that, Phil scampered out into the main room.

Currently, the Moonbase was packed with visiting sectors, as well as its own guards. Phil didn’t recognize a majority of them, but the way they towered over him was terrifying. Well, being a mouse was better than a bug because at least no one would try to step on you. That didn’t make Phil’s life any easier, though.

“EW, A MOUSE!” a young girl leapt back in fright.

“It’s a Moon Mouse!” a boy shouted. “I TOLD you they were real!”

“No, guys, listen!” Phil shouted at the cowering operatives. “I’m not a mouse! W-Well, I am, but I’m actually-”

_“Squeak, squeak, squeakity squeak, squee-squeak!”_

“Is it angry at us?!” the girl asked.

“GET LOST, MOUSE!” a boy kicked it away with vigor.

“Waaaah-!” Phil landed on something fluffy and soft. “Ow… oooo.” He rolled around in the golden fluff. “Hey, this feels pretty good… I wonder what…” He looked over the side to see Carol Masterson’s face. “Uh-oh.”

“AAAAAAHHHH!” Carol frantically shook her head. “GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!”

Phil flew off and grabbed onto Weiss Schnee’s dress, sliding down the smooth fabric and hanging on the edge. “Don’t give it to ME!” Weiss smacked the mouse to the floor, and Phil ran when the heiress started to chase and slash her sword at him. The mouse took cover behind a reddish-purple shoe.

“HYAH!” Weiss swung a great slash that cut Apis’s golden robe at the knees, exposing her legs.

“YAAAAH!” cried Apis, trying to hide herself. “What did you do that for?!”

“S-Sorry!” Weiss reddened. “I-I was chasing a-”

“Do you know how much this costs?!”

“Really, that old thing?” Weiss cocked a brow. “I mean, it’s pretty, but…”

During the transaction, Phil looked up at Apis. _Wait! That girl can talk to animals, can’t she?! Perfect!_ “Hey, Priest Girl-”

“GYOOOM!” Gonbe was looming over Phil with ravenous eyes.

“AAAAAH!” Phil scampered off again as Gonbe chomped his mouth with each pounce. “GO AWAY, YOU STUPID RABBIT! You think you’re a cat or something?!”

“OI, don’t spoil your appetite, Gonbe-chan!” Chimney shouted.

“Hmmm… what a curious creature…” April was painting an image of a mouse curiously trekking the moon.

But Gonbe was determined to have himself a healthy snack. Phil ran up the sloped side of a staircase, causing Gonbe to make operatives slip and fall off the stairs. On the second floor of the Moonbase, Phil hopped on a Frisbee, just as Sheila ran by and snatched it. “It’s comin’ back at ya, Fybi!” She threw it up at the flying angel.

“WAAAAAH!” Phil hung on for dear life.

Fybi caught the Frisbee. “To thee, Lola!” She threw it at the bat, who caught it in her teeth.

“Nnn?” The bat girl noticed the tasty mouse.

 _“EEEK!”_ Phil immediately leapt off, his size allowing him a soft landing as he raced to an elevator. He ran in the elevator at the same time as Mike Strongarm, taking cover behind his shoe.

The elevator began its gentle ascent as Phil gazed up at the colossal biker. In this quiet room, he could easily squeak to get his attention… but Phil took notice of how massive his sneakers were. He had little room to maneuver if the giant decided to kill him. So, Phil stayed quiet as the mouse he was.

The elevator let off on the top floor. Mike walked the other way while Phil ran in the direction of the bridge. The mouse saw Jinta from Sector JP talking to Syaoran of Sector TD, accompanied by their friends Ururu and Meiling. “I’m tellin’ ya, you would be PERFECT for our soccer team!”

“I have no interest in your silly rivalry.” Syaoran replied.

“Don’t you know anything?! Rivalry is life! It gives us power! It gives us courage! And if we let the girls keep beating us, we’re not gonna have any-”

“Jinta-kun!” Ururu hid behind him. “It’s a mouse!”

“Huh?” The four spotted Phil.

“Guys, please listen!” Phil tried using sign language. “I’m actually a human, and I can understand you, and I need your-”

“Is that some kind of mating dance?!” Meiling shouted.

“Gruuuh. I’ll take care of this.” Jinta drew his giant bat from his Infi-Cube. “Who’s up for mouse flapjacks?!”

“That’s WAY too violent!” Syaoran stated. “I’ll just stab it and be done with it!” He drew his sword.

 _“EEEEK!”_ Phil immediately ran around them.

“Get back here!” Jinta smashed a dent in the floor.

“Move aside!” Phil nimbly leapt Syaoran’s slashes.

“GO, SYAORAN!” Meiling cheered.

“Be careful, Jinta-kun!” Ururu yelled.

“HO HO ho! That bat’s weighing him down.”

“Syaoran-kun is much too weak.” Ururu smiled.

“WHAT?!” Meiling fumed.

“Jinta-kun can crush him easy.”

“RAAAAH!” Jinta swung his bat.

“Hrrrrr!” Syaoran slashed his blade.

“OWUH!” Jinta whacked Syaoran’s face and the latter slashed Jinta’s stomach.

Phil finally made it onto the bridge, the Supreme Leader’s office in sight. “Cheren is the best chance I got now… let’s hope he’s reasonable enough to listen to a rodent.”

“Holy cow!” Phil was suddenly snatched in the hands of Emily Garley. “Just when I was about to look for more lab rats! Well, today’s your lucky day, little mousy.”

A dark vision flashed in Phil’s mind:

_Emily rubbed lipstick on Phil’s mouth. …She shot him with a laser and he exploded. “Darn it! This laser-proof lipstick is never gonna work!”_

The color drained from Phil’s fur. He heard a quick pattering of footsteps and watched as Wendy, Romeo, Kiki, and Hat Kid ran by. “GUYS!!” Phil bit Emily’s finger and escaped her grasp. “YOW!”

The mouse quickly raced after his team on their way to Cheren’s office. Wendy was the first to enter. “Cheren, we have bad news! The Brotherhood of Evil kidnapped Oliver and Phil!”

“What?!”

“We received a call from Oliver, but it went dead!” Romeo explained. “Then we went to check Phil’s room, and all we found were his clothes.”

Kiki was shuddering. “What kind of sick villain would strip a boy and then kidnap him. . . I can’t imagine anything more horrifying.” Then, she felt something on her foot. She looked down and spotted a cute little mouse with a positive smile. “KYAAAAH!” She quickly kicked the rodent off.

“No, Kiki! It’s me, listen!” Phil ran back up.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Kiki tried to smash it with her broom, and when the mouse began running around her feet, the witch impulsively danced around. “I don’t wanna catch rabies!”

“Kiki, it’s me! Please listen! Please!”

_“How does this thing even fly?” Phil asked, studying Kiki’s broom. “It doesn’t even have an engine or nothin’.”_

_“It flies using magic, silly!” Kiki stated in a huff. “In fact, broomsticks existed before cars OR airplanes.”_

_“Eh, I believe ya. But give me two hours with this baby, and I can make a REAL broom out of it.”_

_“I’m not going to let you mess up my broom!”_

_“Come on, Kiki, what if you have to fly from one side of the planet to the other, or what if it starts raining really hard? Imagine if this broom could materialize a S.C.A.M.P.E.R., or if it had an engine? And you would be able to use magic to make it alternate between settings. Come on, please?”_

_“Siiiigh… Okay, Phil, I’ll give it a shot.”_

That same broom is what was used to swat Phil away right now. “Ugh, troops, just get rid of that mouse so people stop panicking over it.” Cheren ordered in annoyance.

The guards all drew laser rifles and began trying to blast the fleeing mouse. Phil began to feel only hopelessness and despair, along with regret. If he hadn’t been so afraid of what people would think of him, if he had just told his friends, they would have helped him. But all they see now is a rodent, not a human, and they wouldn’t care until it was too late.

_“Get that filthy thing out of my shop!”_

_“Ew, gross! Mommy, that mouse is going to eat me!”_

_“Can’t we keep him, Mommy?” Ollie asked. “He’s so cute…”_

_“Okay, Oliver, dear. But you’re responsible for him. You know that, right?”_

_“I promise I’ll take good care of him!”_

_…Ollie…_ If only he could see his friend one last time. _Thanks for being such a good friend…_

At that moment, a gigantic hand engulfed the mouse within its darkness, saving him from the wrath of the Moonbase guards. “You should be ashamed of yourselves!” Ally Mitchels of Sector GT stated. “Attacking a poor defenseless animal.” Ally slightly raised her hand and held a pinky down, signaling Phil to climb on. The giant stood fully and raised Phil to her eyes for a better view. “Hey… is that you, Phil?”

_After Ally had divulged her secret to Phil on Field Day, Phil stuck his head in her ear and whispered his own. “You know those vitamins I’ve been taking? The truth is… I’m actually a mouse, and I eat them to stay in human form.”_

_“Really? Does anyone else know?”_

_“None except you and Ollie. But in case you see a mouse with a little blonde puff of hair, you’ll know it’s me.”_

Phil beamed and nodded. Ally returned the smile and walked over to Sector MG and Cheren. “I believe this mouse is your friend.” She lowered her pinky to them.

“Our friend?” Wendy asked in confusion as they looked closer at the mouse. Kiki cast Nature’s Tongue on the mouse.

“Now will you listen to me?”

 _“Phil!”_ the four gasped.

“I hope this won’t count as me spilling your secret.” Ally blushed.

“Eh, I’m sure the fairies will show you mercy. Thanks, Ally, you’re true to your name!” Phil jumped to the floor. Ally nodded and left the rest to his friends.

“Phil, I’m so sorry!” Kiki shouted. “I don’t know what I was thinking, I-I just…”

“Look, we can save the emotions for after we save Ollie. Do you think he’s at the Rocky Mountains?”

“The Rocky Mountains?” Cheren queried. “Why would he be there?”

Wendy gave Cheren the note. “The… Hat Kid? But why do they want you?”

Hat Kid nervously touched both sides of her hat. “I… might have a… small idea…”

“It doesn’t matter, we can’t just hand her over.” Romeo stated. “Either we go home with all our friends or…or we ALL get captured!”

“What do you think, Wendy?” Kiki asked.

“. . . .” Wendy nervously clasped the sides of her dress. There were some parts about being the leader she just wasn’t good at.

“Well, don’t forget, you have other friends, too.” Cheren informed.

Phil gasped. “THAT’S IT!”

**Rocky Mountains, that night**

Sector MG was en route to the designated location. “So, the top of the mountains?” Romeo asked. “Which mountain is the tallest?”

There was an arrow sign made of lights pointing at the peak of a mountain. _The tallest mountain!_

 _No, it’s this one!_ another sign on another mountain read.

 _I’m pretty sure it’s this one._ a smaller sign under the first one read.

_Dagnabbit, I am The Riddler and you will not outsmart me!_

“We’ll try the left one.” Kiki decided, going to park on the mountaintop. The teammates stepped off the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. with worry.

“Well? Is anyone here?” Wendy called. “Show yourself!”

The Ghost Hunter Skulker and Nicolai Technus phased out of the ground, bringing up Oliver (tied up in ghost chains) and Mumbo Jumbo respectively. “About time you showed up.” Skulker said. “Before we begin the trade, our boss would like to speak with you.” He opened a TV on his chest. The terrifying visage of a scarecrow displayed on it.

_“Well, I see you’ve found your little mouse friend. Quite a shame, because I hoped you would have a bit more fun.”_

“So, you’re Affright…” Romeo deduced with a glare.

“But why did you warp Phil to Moonbase instead of kidnapping him, too?” Kiki demanded.

_“I deduced that the boy was afraid to be seen in his true form, and I wondered how the ‘noble’ Kids Next Door would treat an ordinary, pathetic rat. Well, Phil? Did they treat you kindly? Or were they disgusted?”_

“Why don’t we just get it over with, Aflac?!” Hat Kid shouted.

 _“Very well. Hat Kid, walk over and enter Mumbo’s hat.”_ The magician smiled and took off his hat, making it bigger and holding it open. _“Then we will hand Oliver and the pills over to you.”_ Skulker extracted the jar of vitamins from his mechanical hand.

“Tell us why you want her first.” Wendy demanded.

_“Obviously, she doesn’t want you to know, either. Well, we won’t spoil the surprise. But rest assured, we will not harm her. But we will say that someone would like to see her.”_

Hat Kid quietly gasped. She straightened her hat more firmly and declared, “Guys, I have to go.”

“Hat Kid…” Kiki said.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be alright.” She smiled. “Although bringing a hat into a hat is PRETTY weird! But hey, weirdness is what the KND’s all about.” So with that, the Hat Kid bravely walked up and entered Mumbo’s hat.

Skulker kicked Oliver over to them as Mumbo twirled his hat and placed it on his head. “Pleasure doing business with you.” Skulker threw the vitamins over as Romeo scrambled to catch them. The ghosts phased into the ground and escaped while Mumbo disapparated.

The ecto chains and gag on Oliver disappeared. Phil squeaked, signifying Romeo to open the jar and give him a pill. With a flash, Phil changed back into a human, and Oliver flicked a spell to give him his clothes back. “Philip!” Oliver embraced him in a hug.

“Ollie!” Phil hugged back. Their friends smiled warmly at their reunion.

Oliver gasped back to reality and broke apart. “What are they going to do with Hat Kid?!”

“We don’t know, yet.” Kiki shook. “But they might find out soon.”

“‘They’? They who?”

“Your team, of course!” Wendy winked.

“Yeah, and I bet they’re gonna be needing us, too.” Phil winked.

 

**So, if you played _Ni no Kuni_ , you know why I made Phil a mouse. Phil was terribly under-shadowed in that game; he only appears at the beginning, and he doesn’t appear again until a pointless main quest sidequest. Well, next time, the concluding chapter of _Sector MG_ : Under the Hat.**


	6. Under the Hat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hat Kid reunites with someone very special to her. But what exactly was the cause of their feud?

**Hat Kid makes her official debut on October 5! So naturally, the Gameverse had to use her first. ;P**

****

**_

Chapter 6: Under the Hat

_**

****

**Inside Mumbo’s Hat**

“Whoa…” Hat Kid gazed at the pretty blue lights around her. “This is a nice hat.” Mumbo’s hat contained nothing short of a metropolis with buildings that all looked like neon street signs, and the people all looked like Mumbo. “You’re real narcissistic, aren’t you?”

“I’m still more sane than the Riddle Guy!” Mumbo said, snapping poker card handcuffs on her. “And FAR more popular!”

“Hey, Mumbo!” Mr. Mumbo greeted.

“Look, it’s Mumbo!” Mumbo Jr. pointed.

“He’s so handsome, Mumbo Jr.!” Mumbo Jr.’s Sister swooned.

“Bark bark! Mumbark!” Dog Mumbo yipped.

“Fellas, please!” Mumbo said sheepishly. “Save the undying praise for tonight’s show. HEY, Mumbo Driver! Bring up the Mumbousine!” A limousine with a Mumbo face and hat pulled up, the magician forcing Hat Kid inside before climbing in himself.

Hat Kid gazed out the window watching sights scroll by, from a Mumbo church, a Mumbo Monument, and a Great Wall of Mumbo, and the sights started looping. “Why the long face, Kid?” Mumbo asked, pulling his own face outward before it snapped back into place and he rubbed it. “You’re a guest of honor here in Mumbo’s Hat. I think the last time I let someone in here was during the Firstborn Quest. Numbuh 362, Sector W, Shadow the Hedgehog… Whatever happened to Shadow, anyway?”

“Quit wasting time! (Haha, get it?)” she said with a smile, then resumed her seriousness. “You said someone wanted to see me! Is it…Is it who I think it is?”

“Maybe it is-a.” An Italian girl’s voice spoke. Hat Kid gasped and looked to the front of the limo. There was a girl her age, with blonde hair in pigtails, golden eyes, and a defining blonde mustache. She also had a red hood and cape, linked to a gold star medal, and light-red robe with purple pants underneath.

“M…Mu…Mustache Girl…” Hat Kid formed a warm smile. “Big Sis!” She ran up, eager to squeeze her with a hug.

The Mustache Girl kicked Hat Kid back to her seat. “Don’t act so innocent! Not after what you did!”

“But it wasn’t my fault!” Hat Kid cried. “I didn’t mean to steal Dad’s hat-loving genes and leave you with his mustache-loving genes! If I had any control as a sperm, I would have taken the mustache genes, honest! But hey, at least you got Mom’s hair.” She smiled.

“THAT’S NOT what I’m talking about! You left me behind. All to protect that…that-a stupid hat.” Tears leaked from her eyes and trickled across her mustache; Hat Kid suppressed a giggle. “You didn’t even look back… you just let the mafia have me. And wouldn’t you know it… they traded me with the very people we were trying to escape from. You know… the Koopa Troop.”

“Sis, I’m sorry. I wanted to help you, but Mom said that we had to protect the hat no matter what.”

“That stupid thing’s been nothing but trouble! Why did Mom and Dad force us to protect it, anyway?! It’s-a never done ANY good for us! …No, not me, at least. But you used it to cheat your way into Kids Next Door. You cheated at-a Field Day, too.”

“No I didn’t, I was helping Cheren.”

“Yes, you made a bunch of friends and forgot all about me, I bet! Well, I made friends too, you know. And they want what’s under the hat. You know-a the drill. We just have to say our real names and the seal on the hat will be broken! Well? Would you like me to go first? Then here I go! I am Louise-!”

“SHI-SHI-SHI!” Mumbo slapped her mouth shut. “We don’t wanna risk setting it free here, or else we’ll NEVER be able to contain it! Easy does it, little lady. The next order of business will be finding Scheherazade. Or should I say her reincarnation.”

“Who’s Schlebehedazabidabi?” Hat Kid asked.

“That’s enough questions. Now, you might as well make yourself comfortable, sweetheart, ’cause you aren’t going anywhere ’til we find her.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. It sounds like saying her first name was enough to weaken the spell a smidge.” Hat Kid smirked, glancing up as her hat began to wobble. “I hate to think what would happen if it got loose and tore this pretty hat to pieces!”

Mumbo gasped and quickly whipped his wand to conjure a gag over her mouth. “Then I’ll just have to keep your mouth shut!”

“Mm-mm-mm.” She shook her head. “Mm hm hmm, hm mm mm mm mm mm hm hm! (All I have to do is mumble my name and it’ll work!) Hm hm hmm… (Here it comes…)”

Mumbo grit his teeth, his eyes meeting Hat Kid’s in a staring contest of death. “…Hm hm HMM! (Mama MIA!)”

The hat exploded off—Wendy, Romeo, and Kiki flew out as the Rainbow Mage PUNCHED Mumbo across the jaw, sending him bouncing out of his hat as the others were forced out as well. They were under a red- and white-striped circus tent. “I guess we solved THAT trick!” Romeo remarked, twirling the hat and placing it on his head.

“You brats! You were inside her hat the whole time?!”

“Yup!” Wendy smirked. “Those other people were operatives who drank Polyjuice Potion.”

“We had to get Oliver back, but we weren’t gonna let you have Hat Kid either.” Romeo stated.

“So if you don’t mind, I’ll be going home.” Hat Kid’s cuffs vanished. “And I’m taking my sister with me!” She hugged a sack of potatoes. “…Eh?”

“Non oggi, sorella!” declared Mustache Girl as she grapple-hooked across the tent.

“SIS, COME BACK!” Hat Kid pursued her.

“Wait, Hat Kid!” Wendy and co. joined her.

Upon turning a corner in the striped hallway, they had already lost sight of Mustache Girl. In a passage that held one hundred misshapen mirrors, one hundred Mumbos appeared and spoke. _“Welcome to Mumbo’s Big Top, a circus owned by Mumbo, built by Mumbo, and commissioned for by the Spread the Word of Mumbo Committee. All visitors are asked to turn off all electronic devices.”_

Wendy’s wristwatch displayed static. “I can’t get a signal in here. How will we contact Phil and Oliver?”

“Let’s just use the Vanishing Boxes to escape.” Romeo suggested.

“We told Phil to wait an hour before opening it if we didn’t signal them, remember?”

“And besides, we can’t leave my sister!” Hat Kid argued.

“BUNNIES!” screeched Kiki, for hopping down the hall was a squad of large ninja bunnies. The rabbits chucked carrot kunai that Wendy blocked with Protego. Afterwards, Romeo jumped out and punched the rabbits with fiery fists, Wendy assisting him with airbending.

“I’ll just punch my way through until we’re out of here!” Romeo increased the size of his flames and began burning through the tent walls, one after another, but he always ended up back in the same room.

_“Sorry, but visitors may only leave via the designated exits. We will have to fine you for the interior damage, however.”_

“We’ll just get out the old-fashioned way!” Hat Kid threw her hat onto a ninja bunny and possessed it. She grabbed her friends in its big sturdy arms and made a terrific leap to a higher platform, then to another one with a zipline. She released the rabbit as they all slid down the zipline, finding Mustache Girl in a new passage. “There you are, Sis!”

“Don’t-a call me that!” Mustache Girl stomped a switch, causing several cannons to shoot explosive beach balls.

“Romeo, restrain her!” Wendy ordered, blowing the bombs away from them. Mustache Girl whipped around and ran as Romeo lashed his violet flame rope and grabbed her coat.

“Psyche!” The girl ditched her coat, revealing to have another one, and the one flying toward Romeo had bombs attached.

“AAAAH!” The bombs went off on him, but Wendy blew the smoke away and cast a quick healing charm.

Mustache Girl turned a few more hallways before looking back to confirm no one was following her. “Hey Sis, lookame!”

“What?!” She whipped around. “Where are you?!”

“Up here!” Louise looked up and gasped: a puff of smoke with cerulean eyes and a top-hat was floating above her. Hat Kid flew down and smothered her in the smoke, then she rematerialized and tackled Mustache Girl to the ground. “You’re coming with me whether you like it or not!”

“Let me GO, you stupid traitor!”

“Reducio!” Kiki shrunk them in midair and caught the squabbling sisters in her Vanishing Box. “Give those two some time to work it out in private.”

“Good job, Kiki!” Wendy praised. “Now, whaddya say we stop the show?”

“But how?” Kiki asked.

“Even the Great Mumbo couldn’t take the heat from Romeo. Arms!” She cast a Strength Spell on the Rainbow Mage. “Protego!” She then cast a shield over herself and Kiki.

Romeo punched his fists together as they burst into flames. “Engorgio!” The flames enlarged. “REDUCTO!” Punching the ground with supreme gusto, he engulfed the entire tent in a gorgeous explosion of rainbow flames.

Wendy blew the smoke away and healed Romeo, who was scarred and soot-covered from the explosion. The ninja bunnies dropped from the sky half-dead onto the open plain, and Mumbo lay defeated. “Sigh, I can’t believe I agreed to do that for you.” Wendy stated. “You’re lucky I had faith in your strength.”

“Well, maybe that faith is what protected me.”

“We’re not out of the woods, yet!” Kiki shouted. The three braced their selves for more when a fleet of Candy Pirates, Snot Ships, and Yokian ships surrounded them.

“Protego!” Wendy generated another shield and the villains let fire. “Oliver, Philip, this is Wendy! We rescued Hat Kid, get ready to open the Vanishing Box in 10 seconds!”

_“Roger!”_

“Team, it’s time to head home!” smirked Wendy. Her friends nodded as Kiki set the box with Hat Kid and Mustache Girl on the ground and opened it. “Reducio!” Wendy shrunk her friends and then herself as they fell in the box and shut it. The shield vanished and some pirates ran in to grab the box and open it, only to find it empty.

“Curses!”

**Sector MG Treehouse**

Oliver and Phil opened the box once the 10 seconds were up and beamed at seeing their little friends. Ollie dumped them on the floor and re-enlarged them. “You’re back!” cheered Ollie.

“Wait a second, who’s that guy?” Phil pointed.

“I AM A GIRL, you stupid idiot!”

“She’s my BIG SISSIE!” Hat Kid squeezed the Mustache Girl.

 _“Your sister?!”_ the boys chorused.

“Thanks for telling them about me…”

Hat Kid frowned. “Sis… I’m sorry for leaving you behind. I really am. But you’re here now! We’re together again! Now you can be in the Kids Next Door with us!”

“…Hmmm… perhaps-a you’re right.” The girl seemed to calm down. “I guess just being around those villains got me into some bad habits.”

“Oh, Siiiiis!” Hat Kid hugged her again. “This is going to be so awesome! Now we’ll have seven members, just like W7!”

“But they have six, plus a pet.” Kiki replied.

“Yes, and Phil is OUR pet!”

“Hey!”

“But since I am joining, perhaps I should meet-a your leader.” Mustache Girl inferred. “I have information on something the Brotherhood of Evil is planning that they’ll like to know.”

“Great idea! Kiki, fire up the broom and take us to Moonbase!” Hat Kid dragged her sister and ran to the hangar.

“She sure had a quick change of heart…” Wendy said suspiciously.

“So did Invader Zim, from what I read.” Romeo replied.

“That’s true. Well, I guess we better go.”

**KND Moonbase**

“Hah hah ha ha!” Panini cackled at the form Cheren had taken: he looked just like Romeo and was wearing his clothes. “It must feel weird bein’ so big and strong, huh boy!”

“If I wanted to, I can put on the Giant’s Mask and squish your house.” Cheren remarked in Romeo’s voice.

“Do that and I’ll swipe it from ya and squash you ten times harder.”

“Sigh…” In seconds, the Polyjuice Potion wore off and Cheren shrunk back to normal form. Behind him, Haruka changed back from Kiki’s form and Aurora changed back from Wendy’s.

“I think I made a pretty good Kiki, do you?” Haru asked.

“Yeah, you really pulled it off!” Mason praised.

“Chereeeeeen!” Hearing Wendy’s familiar call, the group turned to see Sector MG racing over.

“So, you made it back.” Cheren smiled with relief. “I’m glad…”

“Yeah, and guess who we brought with uuuus!” Hat Kid sang. “Go on, introduce yourself!”

The Mustache Girl walked up to a curious Cheren. “So, you are the Supreme Leader?”

“Uh, yeah. And you are?”

She smirked. “Delighted.” With that, she GRABBED Cheren by the neck and grappled away from them, all the operatives whipping their direction as Mustache Girl drew a gun and touched it against Cheren’s head. “Nobody make a single move or I’ll-a BLOW his brains out!”

“SIS! What are you doing?!”

“If you want to save him, Sis, you better say your true name! Show everyone the evil under the hat-a!”

Maddy used Conqueror’s Haki on the girl—Mustache Girl shot Cheren in the hip. “AAAH!”

“You think that’s gonna work on me?! Your leader’s going to die unless you say your name-a!”

“Sis… we promised Mom we would protect him.”

“Do you care about that stupid creature more than me?!”

“No, of course not!”

“Then prove it. Set it free, or your leader dies.”

“. . .” Hat Kid felt sweat trickling down her face. Her sister’s finger was on the trigger, and Cheren was slowly losing blood. “F…Fine… M-My name…” She took a breath and spoke, “My name is Maria Mario!”

The Moonbase rang with surprised murmurs. Mustache Girl smirked. “And I am Louise Mario.”

Hat Kid’s hat began to bounce before floating up in the air and brimming with dark aura. The Haki users and psychicbenders could feel the immeasurable energy brimming from that headwear. The hat shook and threatened to destroy the Moonbase with the full force of its power. Pop! “Alléhooparing!” A little genie-like creature sprouted out of the bottom of the hat. It took it off, twirling it around its arm. “Hehe! Were you surprised?”

Everyone was baffled. The genie was infant-sized and had grayish-purple skin with red wristbands, brown horns on the sides of its head with gold rings around them, another ring around its belly, and a gold oval ring on its forehead. Its eyes has yellow sclera, green irises, and white pupils. It sported a wicked smirk.

“Oh, it’s so good to finally be out of there!” Hoopa threw the hat back to its owner. “It sure does get stuffy in there. Well, not as bad as my old lamp, I suppose! And, sniff sniff… do I smell donuts? I LOVE DONUTS!” His horn rings came off and became portals that he reached into, retrieving a chocolate-glazed donut and pink-glazed donut, devouring them both. “Mmmm… The best part is, since I have an infinite stomach, I don’t have to worry about getting fat. Not like that girl.” He pointed at Kiki.

Kiki felt as if her hopes and dreams shattered inside. “F-F-F…Fat?…”

Louise pushed Cheren away and drew a large black cannon from her Pocket Space pocket. “Let’s-a see what you can do!” She charged the cannon up and fired a beam of darkness at the genie.

“AAAAH!” The genie felt an uncontrollable rage building inside him. “No! G-Go away! I don’t want you!”

 ** _“WAH HA HA HA!”_** laughed the dark incarnation in his head. **_“Why so surprised?! This is what you really are! It doesn’t matter how hard Scheherazade tries to imprison me. Soon, you will destroy the world like you were destined to do! And we’ll start with this miserable MOONBASE!”_**

“WAAAAAH!” The genie opened a massive portal on the ceiling as thousands of donuts, cakes, and other luscious pastries began to rain in. The genie did a flip before shooting out the window and flying for Earth.

“It’s escaping!” Panini shouted.

“Is this all the little twerp is good for?!” Mustache Girl questioned.

“Stupefy!” Oliver stunned the culprit senseless. “Hat Kid, what was that thing?!”

“It’s called Hoopa. I don’t know everything behind it, but we were tasked with guarding it by the Star Spirits. Apparently, he’s a… Firstborn.”

“A Firstborn?!” Cheren exclaimed. Just like Victini… Karkat… He glared.

 _“Everyone, this is Sunni.”_ Her voice rang through the PA. _“I don’t know what that thing was that was just in here, but it’s making a bunch of portals over the surface!”_

“Bring up a satellite image!” Cheren ordered. Panini brought up the image on the Global Tactical Station. A giant portal was descending on Sector W’s treehouse, seeming to trim it down. “It’s destroying the treehouse!”

“No…” Panini switched the image to one of Gallagher Elementary. “It’s being teleported!” The treehouse was coming out of a portal above the school, and before long it was crushed.

 _“Incoming transmissions from multiple sectors.”_ The computer spoke. _“This is most definitely not good.”_

 _“OI, CHEREN-CHAN!”_ Chimney’s face appeared. _“One minute we was sleeping, now Water 7’s sitting on top of a big tower in the sky! Aisa says this is Birka.”_

 _“Yo, this is Sector Q! Anyone there?”_ Drake Puncture appeared in a sideways image. _“Uh, this might sound weird, but our treehouse is kinda laying in the middle of a football stadium.”_

“Grrrr! Panini, signal all available operatives to detain that creature! It’s a Firstborn-level threat, so do whatever it takes to stop it!”

“Let’s go, team!” Wendy declared.

“Right!” Romeo nodded as they all rushed to the hangar. Hat Kid looked back at her sister, whom was being handcuffed by Francis. Disappointment and hurt clear on her features, Hat Kid straightened her hat and followed her teammates.

**Earth**

A portal swallowed the Tree of Beginning and dropped it into Groudon Volcano. Another portal swallowed the entire Sea Temple in Oceana and dropped it over Chicago, Indiana. Mt. Malladus was being absorbed from the top and steadily being lowered top-first onto Quahog.

“AH HA HA HA!” laughed Hoopa over Cleveland, Virginia. “Are you surprised what the Hoopa can bring?! The Hoopa can do ANY THING!!”

“Sky Dragon’s CLAW!” Wendy Marvell PUNCHED Hoopa several feet before landing back in Kiki’s S.C.A.M.P.E.R.. The ship turned to face the dizzied Hoopa as Phil launched a claw to grab him.

As Hoopa struggled to escape, Romeo climbed to the roof of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R., down to the hook’s line, and yelled, “Baubillious!” channeling lightning to his fists and punching the line to zap the Firstborn. Hoopa fell limp and dangled from the claw. “I think we got it!”

Hoopa awoke and spawned a new portal above their little ship and dropped Sector V’s treehouse. “AAAAAHH!” the six screamed as they were quickly pushed down and crushed against the earth. Fortunately, Wendy was able to surround the ship in a Protego. She blew the treehouse off using a burst of the bubble, but several houses were crushed in the process. “Ahhh! I’m so sorry!”

“AlléHOOPARING!” Hoopa conjured more portals and dropped five buildings from downtown onto Sector MG. Wendy immediately summoned her shield again, the entire buildings bursting to pieces upon impact with the bubble. Unfortunately, Wendy’s shield broke after the second building and she dropped. “WENDY, NO!” Oliver screamed.

“HERE THEY COME!” cried Phil, for the last three buildings had not yet landed. Fortunately, those buildings were restrained by several psychic grips.

“We’ll protect you!” Sunni yelled, working with the Crime Sensors of Moonbase. “Just attack him! Firstborn may be immortal, but their bodies are vulnerable, right?!”

“YAH!” Romeo quickly leapt, grabbed Hoopa, threw him to the ground, and pinned him under his hands. “Reducto!” He exploded that area of ground and Hoopa with it.

Naturally, the attack injured Romeo, but Hoopa had floated back up, slightly weakened as well. Oliver bombarded it with Light Arrow spells while Wendy swallowed it in flaming tornadoes. The best Kiki could do was throw Package Bombs in to add to the damage and Phil simply blasted his Diffusion Rifle through the flames.

 _“AAAAALLEEEEEEEHOOOOOPAAAAARIIIIING!”_ Now, almost the entire sky was covered with tremendous portals. From one portal fell Candied Island. From another fell Mt. Mariejoa. There was also Yoshi’s Island, Punk Hazard, the Great Wall of China, and other gargantuan landscapes or structures.

“It’s…It’s over…” Wendy dropped to her knees and cried.

“I BESEECH THE POWERS OF DEUS EX MACHINA!” Hat Kid prayed. “PLEASE, SAVE US FROM ANOTHER CATACLYSM OF INAVOIDABLE DOOM!”

_“Remember who you aaaaaare… Remember who you aaaaare…”_

Hoopa’s rage subsided and the structures ceased descending. They looked in the direction of this beautiful voice.

_“Remember the light inside you… Remember your loooove…”_

The voice was coming from a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. III in the distance. The voice belonged to Index, who radiated with white light. _“Remember who you aaaaaare…”_ Sector SA was confused as to how this would work.

Tears leaked from Hoopa’s eyes. Guilt overwhelmed the rage in his heart. “It…It’s you…” He viewed around at the destruction he had caused. “What have I done?…”

In the next moment, the entire planet was engulfed in a blue beam from beyond the stars. The portals reformed and sucked every single structure and landscape back inside, settling them perfectly into their rightful places. Any and all damage that had happened in the last several minutes was repaired. “W…What was that?” Wendy asked.

“Looks like the world just… rewinded.” Hat Kid replied.

As Hoopa was lost in thought, Phil quietly snuck up on the Firstborn and BASHED him in the head with a wrench. Hoopa fell to the ground unconscious. “YEEEAH! I just knocked out an all-powerful Firstborn!! Philip Blakely is GOIN’ in the record books, baby!”

“Oh, Phil…” His team bore disbelieved expressions.

**Great Clock**

In the Chamber of the Time Gate, MaKayla King was pouring every ounce of chi into turning back the Earth. “We worked too hard to protect this planet… you think you have the right to ruin it! Ugh!” She stopped and dropped to her knees. “There… another catastrophe averted.”

“You realize turning back an entire planet takes 10 years of your life, right?” Sigmund asked.

“Hey, it was Cheren’s orders.”

**Moonbase**

_“The world faced another catastrophe today as it seemed multiple cities and buildings were aimlessly being transported around the world, threatening the lives of millions.”_ Eva Jackson spoke on the news. _“But as if by a miracle, the crisis was averted. No doubt we have our heroic Kids Next Door to thank.”_

Haruka firmly tied the bandages around Cheren’s waist. “Talk about a close call. I guess the Kids Next Door just isn’t meant to rest for a day.” Haru said.

“Cheren, I’m so sorry.” Hat Kid said guiltily. “I shouldn’t have brought my sister here.”

“Don’t worry. Heh, we’re a little used to family issues. There’s no better way to go about them but to try.” Cheren cracked a smile.

“I’m sorry, too.” Hoopa bowed his head. “I don’t know what came over me… I was… surprised.”

“What she used was a Darkness Cannon. I remember them from my parents’ stories about the Firstborn Quest. Team Gnaa were the ones to use them… I guess the Brotherhood of Evil kept a few.”

“She said she was bought by the Koopa Troop.” Romeo mentioned. “If that’s so, how did she end up with the Brotherhood?”

“The Koopas and Brotherhood were part of Team Gnaa…” Cheren thought aloud. “Could they really be… in contact again?”

“According to Melody’s report three years ago, Team Gnaa was still together.” Panini replied.

“And that could have something to do with these new Firstborn… I think a certain troll has some explaining to do. Sector MG, it looks like you’re in charge of protecting Hoopa until we figure out what to do with him.”

“We really need to upgrade our defenses, too.” Wendy suggested. “Since the Brotherhood clearly knows we have him.”

“Wait a second!” Hoopa spoke up. “Who was the person that was singing just now?! I know it’s her, it’s just gotta be!”

“Do you mean Schlabadibadobadaba?” Hat Kid asked.

“No, silly! I mean Scherloreosis!”

“Ha ha ha ha!” They both laughed.

“But, wait…” Oliver thought of something. “Your name… Does that mean your parents are really-”

“Yep!” Hat Kid grinned. “I hope I get to introduce you soon!”

“Her mom made the most amazing cakes!” Hoopa’s eyes brimmed with delight. “I haven’t eaten anything more amazing since that gigantic cake on Candied Island a few centuries ago! Siiiigh, just thinking about it…”

“Ha ha ha! I think we all deserve a nice dinner after today.” Wendy said. “Let’s go home.”

“Not so fast, kiddo!” Phil stated. “I’m still horribly traumatized from my experience a few hours ago.”

“Oh… yeah.” Wendy blushed. “We’re really sorry, Phil.”

“I wasn’t askin’ that from you.” Phil smirked.

**Sometime later**

Phil was back in his mouse form, sitting on a chair as several operatives were lined up. Carol Masterson was first, and she said with a sigh, “I’m sorry I shook you out of my hair, Phil.”

“Squeak.” He nodded.

Weiss Schnee went next. “I’m sorry I tried to kill you. I should have realized that mice were people, too.”

“Squeak.”

Next was Fybi. “I am sorry for throwing thee without looking.”

“Yeh, me too, mate.” Sheila followed.

“Gyom, gyom.” Gonbe frowned.

“I can’t believe we’re wasting our time with this crud.” Jinta said.

“Jinta-kun, he worked hard to make these scripts for us.” Ururu replied. “This is the least you could do for trying to kill him.”

“YOU’RE the one who got scared!”

“I know. I’m going to apologize for getting scared and promise to happily greet all mice I meet from now on.”

“I’m sorry I scared you with my superior height.” Mike Strongarm said.

“I’m sorry I fantasized testing my laser-proof lipstick on you.” Emily bowed. “The next time I do it, I hope you will be there to bite me.” (Play “Holy Shine” from _Fairy Tail_!)

“Hee hee hee!” Hat Kid could only giggle. _Maybe one day… Louise will apologize, too._

**_Sector MG_ : Cast:**

**Brittney Karbowski as _Wendy Marvell_ and _Apis_**

**Lindsay Seidel as _Romeo Conbolt_ and _Nagisa Shiota_**

**Lisa Michelson as _Kiki Yamaka_**

**Adam Wilson as _Oliver Orson_**

**Max Cazier as _Philip Blakely_**

**Apphia Yu as _Hat Kid_**

**Eileen Montgomery as _Mustache Girl_**

**Sharon Mann as _Cheren Uno_**

**Tara Strong as _Maddy Murphy_ , _Sheila Frantic_ , and _Eva Jackson_**

**Jo Wyatt as _Alicia Orson_**

**Alexandra Kenworthy as _Osono_**

**Lara Jill Miller as _Juniper Lee_**

**Amy Hill as _Jasmine Lee_**

A group of workers in white contamination suits filled jars with purple vitamins. One of them put them in an envelope, ready to mail the vitamins to Number 3, Wagon Way, Motorville. In the center of the factory stood a lovely golden statue of Gruntilda Winkybunion. 

**Grey DeLisle as _Mandy McKenzie_ , _Azula_ , and _Chimney_**

**Jason Liebrecht as _Rob Lucci_**

**Ron Perlman as _Slade Wilson_**

**Jason Marsden as _Chase Young_**

**John Noble as _Affright_**

**Tom Kenny as _Mumbo Jumbo_**

**Sonny Strait as _Shy Mask_**

**Lori Phillips as _Hoopa_**

**Characters owned by their respective creators.**

**Published by Archive of Our Own**

**Presented by Gamewizard2008**

**_Sector MG_ : _END_**

**I JUST realized Jason Marsden voiced Chase Young, and he also voiced Numbuh 100! XD And you know what else I realized? Apphia Yu voiced Hat Kid, and she ALSO voices Laki from _Fairy Tail_! IT’S LIKE LAKI REINCARNATED!! And she’s still friends with Wendy! XDD**

**So yeah, Hat Kid and Mustache Girl are basically the new Violet and Scarlet of the Nextgen Series… oh yeah, Lilac and Berry. Whatever happened to them? XD More than anything, this chapter is an homage to their new game; expect another hiatus when it comes out, and then another one when _Mario Odyssey_ comes out a few weeks later. Well everyone, hope you enjoyed these magical operatives. I think our next Crossover Sector story should have a little more class, and who better than Sector $? Until then, I leave you with a post-credits scene.**

**…**

Cheren returned to relax in his room, watching the twilight sky outside his window. There was a knock at his door as his grandfather peeked in. “Cherry, a little girl is here to see you. She has a rather large hat.”

Cheren peeked out the window. The Hat Kid was waving up at him. “Hehe. Let her in.”

Hat Kid raced up to his room shortly after. “Hi, Cheren! Just wanted to apologize again for what my sister did.”

“It’s okay. Sigh… I’ve really been slacking off in my training. I wonder if Link was ever like this.”

“Funny you should say that. Because I… might have an idea how you could catch up on your training.”

“Yeah?” Cheren looked at her curiously.

Hat Kid took off her hat. “Remember when I said my hat could do other things? One of those things is… showing you your past lives.”

“You mean… I could see Link?”

“Better than that! It can make you feel like you’re actually there with him!”


End file.
